‘I just do not see the logic of what he (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) did when it comes to cutting off constituency funds.’
SUBANG JAYA: The government’s decision to cut constituency allocations for certain MPs could come at a political cost, particularly in parliamentary constituencies that have traditionally supported Pakatan Harapan (PH), said Bersama leader Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli.
Rafizi said the decision could have consequences beyond the individual MPs affected, including Wong Chen, who recently resigned as the Subang MP.
“I just do not see the logic of what he (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) did when it comes to cutting off constituency funds,” he said at a press conference at the party’s headquarters here today.
He said the impact would not be confined to individual MPs but could affect voters in constituencies that had traditionally supported PH.
“The impact is not merely on an individual MP like Wong Chen. The impact is on how parliamentary constituencies that traditionally voted for PH are suddenly cut off,” he said.
Rafizi said constituents could instead be directed to political party branch leaders or political appointees for assistance, but argued that not all residents would be comfortable dealing with politicians.
He said this was why parliamentary service centres should remain separate from political party offices to ensure they were inclusive and accessible to all constituents.
Rafizi said this was among the practices he and Wong had sought to change after becoming MPs in 2013.
He cited Subang, Petaling Jaya and Ampang as constituencies with large numbers of PH and progressive voters.
Rafizi said restricting constituency funds could therefore have a deeper impact in such areas.
“When Datuk Seri Anwar makes a decision like that, the impact is deep.
“And I just don’t see what political capital he gets out of that,” he said.
Rafizi also said he could not speak for two other MPs whose allocations had also been blocked, whom he identified as the representatives for Petaling Jaya and Ampang, and whether they would follow Wong in resigning.
