KUALA LUMPUR: Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin has raised concerns over the reforms promised by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim before he assumed the role of prime minister last year.
This comes following a revelation made by an opposition member of Parliament (MP) that he received allocations for his constituency after pledging support for the Madani government.
Khairy, during his Keluar Sekejap podcast with former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan said the practice of exchanging allocations for political support contradicts the principles of institutional reform.
He emphasised that genuine institutional reform should ensure equal allocations for all MPs, irrespective of their political affiliations.
"The ideal institutional reform should guarantee equal allocations for all MPs, whether they are part of the government bloc or not.
"Therefore, when Anwar endeavours to enhance this reform, the issue of allocations should be promptly addressed.
"It shouldn't be in line with Anwar's demands, where the opposition must engage in discussions with him or show support for the government before receiving additional allocations," he said.
Khairy's comments were prompted by Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman's claim that he received allocations for his constituency after declaring support for Anwar on Oct 30.
Suhaili is the second MP from Bersatu to do so, following Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid on October 12, who was disciplined with a four-year suspension.
Two other MPs from the party, Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang) and Zahari Kechik (Jeli), declared their support for the prime minister earlier this week.
Khairy also noted that the issue of equal allocations for government and opposition MPs has long been a contentious matter that should not be "manipulated" by the government.
"This is an issue that Datuk Seri Anwar and his colleagues from Pakatan Harapan raised when they were in the opposition bloc.
"One can easily verify through the Hansard, manifesto, and speeches they made. They demanded the same thing when Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri was the prime minister.
"Through an agreement made by the government and the opposition at that time, all members of parliament received equal allocations. Thus, when this practice is not continued by the Madani government, it is deemed unacceptable," he said.