KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has questioned how the government could be accused of being cruel to the opposition when it increased federal allocations for Terengganu by RM2.2bil.
He said the allocation for fully opposition-led Terengganu would rise to RM8.2bil next year, compared with RM6bil in 2022, when Perikatan Nasional was part of the government.
"What kind of discrimination is this? The word 'zalim' (cruel) is often used by the opposition," he said in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Oct 27).
"How is this cruel? We have increased the allocation by RM2.2bil for a state that is 100% opposition-controlled.
"This is indeed extraordinarily cruel," he quipped.
Datuk Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh (PN-Besut) had questioned the government's commitment to distributing constituency development funds (CDF) equally among government and opposition MPs.
Che Mohamad Zulkifly said although the government had stated that all parliamentary constituencies were allocated RM2mil annually, funds for opposition constituencies were administered directly by the government rather than through their elected representatives.
He asked if this amounted to double standards and if the government intended to introduce an Equal Constituency Allocation Act to fulfil Pakatan Harapan's election manifesto before the next general election.
In response, Anwar maintained that the government had never marginalised opposition constituencies, stressing that development allocations were intended to benefit residents regardless of political affiliation.
He said the distinction was between providing development funds for a constituency and channelling those funds directly through its MP.
"The people are not marginalised, and neither are their constituencies. Must every project go through the MP? No," he said.
Anwar explained that even in government-held constituencies, development funds were not handed directly to MPs, who instead played a role in verifying projects.
He cited Besut as an example, saying RM123mil had been approved for 197 development projects covering infrastructure, healthcare, housing, agriculture, education and flood mitigation.
These included RM8mil for conservation works along Sungai Besut, RM18mil for security-related projects at Gong Kedak Air Base and RM37mil for a new health clinic in the district.
He said project priorities were determined through consultations involving federal ministries, state governments and district offices, taking into account local needs and the government's financial capacity.
On the demand for equal allocations to MPs, Anwar said the government had already offered the opposition a negotiation mechanism similar to the confidence and supply agreement (CSA) reached during his tenure as opposition leader under former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof had been tasked with conducting the negotiations, but the opposition had yet to reach an agreement.
Anwar reiterated that the government was prepared to approve the arrangement if the opposition agreed to the proposed terms.
"If they sign today, it can be approved tomorrow. If they do not want to negotiate, that is not my problem," he said.
He maintained that claims of discrimination were unfounded, as federal development allocations continued to reach constituencies represented by both sides of the political divide.
