GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has no intention to increase the allocations for opposition elected representatives in the 2024 Budget, which is expected to be presented in the middle of this month.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government would continue the practice of giving allocations as before whereby opposition elected representatives were given RM60,000 per year compared to state government elected representatives who received RM500,000 per year.
"We will continue giving allocations to opposition representatives as we have done before," he told a press conference here today.
He was asked if the state government planned to increase the amount allocated to opposition elected representatives through the 2024 Budget.
Meanwhile, asked if the state government would follow the recommendation by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who asked opposition elected representatives at the federal level to discuss with the government to obtain more allocations, Chow said:
"We do not propose more. That's what we can do".
Anwar was previously reported to have reminded opposition elected representatives to negotiate with the federal government if they wanted allocations to be channeled to them.
In fact, he also advised opposition members of parliament not to be arrogant and instead to discuss with the federal government.