KUALA LUMPUR - Indera Mahkota Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah has slammed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for reneging on his promise of equal allocations to all MPs, accusing him of using the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) proposal to silence the Opposition.
Saifuddin stated that Anwar's leadership reflected a pattern of vengeance towards Opposition leaders, including Bersatu chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin.
In an exclusive interview with Sinar Daily, Saifuddin revealed that there had been no issues regarding the MoU with the previous government.
"Anwar is playing his vengeance towards the Opposition. During the tenure of Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri as ninth Prime Minister, we had a MoU that was straightforward.
"The MoU ensured allocations for the Opposition while expecting support for the government’s budget bill, and both sides agreed on the anti-hopping law," he said when met at Parliament building today.
Saifuddin further highlighted that Opposition MPs were allocated funds under former Muhyiddin without requiring lengthy negotiations or conditions.
"When Muhyiddin was in power, allocation was given to the Opposition without any discussion. But now, under Anwar, he made all sorts of promises in his manifesto, including equal allocations for all MPs, regardless of their political affiliation.
"Yet, when we asked about these allocations, we were met with a proposal for another MoU," Saifuddin said.
However, Saifuddin argued that the MoU presented under Anwar’s administration was not a genuine agreement but rather an attempt to suppress criticism.
"When we read the MoU, it wasn’t about collaboration.
"It was a document asking us to sign away our freedom to criticise the government. Our hands would be tied. There's no way we could agree to that, and that’s why we rejected it," he added.
Saifuddin also emphasised that the rejection of the MoU was not just a political strategy but also about preserving the dignity of the Opposition.
"We must understand two things here. First, Anwar is not living up to his promises.
"Second, we have our dignity. We believe in democracy, and we believe in our right to education and other opportunities. But we also believe in our right to criticise the government freely, and we will not surrender that right," he said.
Reflecting on the previous MoU under Ismail Sabri’s administration, Saifuddin pointed out that it allowed for open criticism of the government while maintaining cooperation on key issues like the budget.
"When we were negotiating the MoU last time, we didn’t ask the Opposition to surrender their rights. You could criticise us. The only thing we asked for was support for our budget. Simple as that," he said.
In September, it was reported that Perikatan Nasional had unanimously rejected the draft MoU on constituency allocations for Opposition MPs.