JOHOR BARU: All Opposition assemblymen in Johor received the same allocations from the state government, says Marina Ibrahim.
The former Skudai assemblyman urged politicians to be responsible in their campaign speeches, adding that inaccurate information could mislead voters.
"I heard a speech by my colleague during a ceramah who stated that the state government has not provided any allocations this year.
"No matter what you want to criticise our opponents, criticise them. About the policies, about the way they work, about state management – but if you go astray and say something that is not true, that is wrong," she said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (June 16).
She said that allocations and assistance provided to her were also made available to other Opposition assemblymen.
Marina, who is not defending her seat in the Johor polls, said among the allocations were RM200,000 for administrative support, an additional RM50,000 for minor works through district offices and allocations under the Semarak Subuh programme.
She noted that certain programmes, such as back-to-school assistance and festive allocations, were handled differently this year, with aid distributed directly through schools or subject to separate applications.
Marina added that requests for additional allocations had long been a common practice due to differences in constituency size and needs.
She also rejected claims that Opposition assemblymen were denied opportunities to raise issues, saying all assemblymen, including Opposition members, were allowed to attend district development and state constituency action meetings until April 2026.
"The meetings provided a platform for elected representatives to voice concerns and seek solutions for issues affecting their constituencies," she said.
Marina urged voters to assess information carefully, distinguish between perception and reality and make informed choices based on facts rather than emotions or hearsay.
On Sunday (June 14), Pakatan Harapan Bukit Batu seat candidate Arthur Chiong retracted remarks he made about not receiving any allocations from the Johor state government.
Chiong, who is the constituency's incumbent assemblyman, said he made a mistake in his statement during the Bukit Batu election machinery launch on Saturday (June 13) night.
"Upon further review, I have found that the statement claiming that 'there was no allocation from the state government for this year' was inaccurate.
"As such, I sincerely apologise to all parties for any confusion caused by the statement.
"I hereby withdraw the statement and acknowledge that the mistake was unintentional," he said.
