Melaka Pakatan Harapan chairman Adly Zahari has pledged to maintain state allocations for opposition assembly members and roll out the ‘Smart Melaka’ digital system if the coalition returns to power.
MELAKA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) is committed to continuing the provision of allocations to opposition State Legislative Assembly members should it return to govern Melaka, a practice implemented when the coalition led the state government in 2018.
Melaka PH chairman Adly Zahari said these allocations should be maintained to ensure all elected representatives possess sufficient financial resources to carry out their duties and serve the community.
The former Chief Minister of Melaka noted that when PH governed the state in 2018, it became the first state administration to provide allocations to opposition assembly members.
“Based on my own experience as an opposition member, the absence of such allocations makes it difficult for assembly members to manage their service centres and assist the community in their respective constituencies.
“If you are an assemblyman and receive absolutely no allocation, it becomes extremely challenging. At the very least, the fundamental requirement is an allocation for the operation of a service centre,” he told reporters here yesterday.
Adly Zahari said although funds are channeled through district offices and government agencies, financial resources provided by the state government to opposition assemblymen members are essential for distribution to the public in the form of various types of assistance.
Touching on the reform of the state government’s administration, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Bukit Katil state constituency intends to expand digitalization initiatives for instance, through a ‘Smart Melaka’ system which would serve as a platform for the public to submit requests for aid and lodge complaints.
He explained that this method aims to ensure that the distribution of aid and the resolution of public issues are carried out more transparently, free from political influence.
“Under this approach, every request for assistance or complaint received by an elected representative will be recorded in the system before being forwarded to the relevant agencies for further action; the final decision on approval or the resolution of the issue will then be made by the respective agencies.”
“The implementation of this digitalization system also allows the public to track the status of their complaints such as those concerning infrastructure issues like clogged drains or fallen trees while indirectly enabling the government to monitor the actions taken,” he said.
Regarding the Bukit Katil constituency, Adly noted that 255 complaints have been received from residents since the end of last year, 231 of which have been successfully resolved.
He added that of this total, 101 cases involved issues related to drains, drainage, and infrastructure, while over 80 others concerned welfare matters including the provision of medical equipment and assistance for children undergoing medical treatment.
Adly faces a four-way contest for the Bukit Katil state constituency, with challengers Muhammad Ridzuan Mohd Sarif (Perikatan Nasional), Dr. Aliza Che Amran (Parti Bersama Malaysia), and Abu Bakar Sabudin (Independent).
In the previous state election, he won the seat with a majority of 1,057 votes.
The Election Commission has set November 14 as the polling day for the 16th Melaka state election, with early voting scheduled for November 10.
