KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) is firm in its stance not to proceed with discussions with the unity government over equal distribution of parliamentary allocation.
Its chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the conditions requested by the government have never been imposed before.
"I can confirm that I have met with Deputy Prime Minister 2 (Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof), who is said to be authorised by PMX (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) to discuss this allocation.
"What was requested by DPM 2 is for the opposition to write a letter to them, providing certain assurances," he told reporters at the PN headquarters here today.
Takiyuddin stressed that such conditions should never have been imposed.
He pointed out that during the previous government under the leadership of Bera MP, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, an offer was extended to the opposition to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for these allocations, and it was provided without complications.
He questioned the need for a formal request, which seemed unnecessary and implied a lack of commitment.
"We will not be submitting any formal request to the government for parliamentary allocation. Furthermore, it is a promise outlined in their manifesto book, guaranteeing equal allocation," he added.
Takiyuddin also claimed that the prime minister twisted his statement, acknowledging that allocations had been given to opposition parliamentarians.
"The issue is not about how many projects were approved. It is about the allocation to opposition MPs that was previously given by the government," he said.
When questioned about the terms of the government's agreement with the opposition, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin stated that there have been no detailed requirements or assurances requested.
"There has only been preliminary discussion, but once we have them, we will announce them," he said.
In April, Anwar announced that the government was willing to offer the opposition equal allocations given to MPs in the government bloc, adding that the proposal must be submitted to Fadillah.
However, Pas deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in May reportedly said the opposition would not beg for allocations and it was Putrajaya's responsibility to distribute the allocations directly to them.
Tuan Ibrahim said this was because a fair government should distribute allocations to opposition MPs directly without needing to submit proposals.