Willie Mongin
KUCHING: Allocation for members of parliament (MPs) is meant to finance projects in their constituencies, and not for them (MPs) to directly disburse to the people.
Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin also said there are processes and procedures to go through before the grant could be disbursed.
He said upon official request from non-government organisations (NGOs), MPs must apply for the fund to the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) under the Prime Minister’s Department.
If the application is approved, the money would then be disbursed or the project implemented through the State Development Office (SDO).
“In principle, the funds are available to all MPs regardless of their political affiliation, and the people must understand that the fund is not given directly to the MPs,” he said to dispel public perception that the grant was given directly to the MPs.
Willie, who is also Puncak Borneo PKR chairman, said he had received many queries regarding the fund after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that the allocation for MPs would be disbursed before this Hari Raya celebration.
Dr Mahathir had said that Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs would be given a RM500,000-allocation and RM200,000 for their service centres each while opposition MPs would be given RM100,000.
Willie said following the Prime Minister’s announcement some members of the public had thought that the fund would be given directly to the MPs, and that their organisations could get their share directly from them.
“But that is not the case. But I can say that I will do my best to utilise the fund for the benefits of my constituents. But please do understand that the fund will not be disbursed directly by me.
“I encourage NGOs that need the fund this year to write to my service centre as soon as possible.
“It is then my responsibility to submit your applications according to the proper procedure to the relevant authority,” he said.