Only Syed Saddiq had responded to MoU on Opposition allocations - Dr Zaliha
She said Syed Saddiq, from Muda, had also requested certain amendments to the MoU, which the government is willing to consider.
KUALA LUMPUR - Only Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has officially responded to the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on allocations for opposition MPs so far, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa said.
She said Syed Saddiq, from the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), had also requested certain amendments to the MoU, which the government is willing to consider.
"If no official response is received from other opposition MPs, it is likely that only Yang Berhormat Muar will be eligible for this allocation,” she said during a Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
She was responding to a motion by Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau), who urged the Federal Government to review the MoU concerning allocations for opposition MPs.
Dr Zaliha said the draft MoU was submitted by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also Government Chief Whip, to Opposition Chief Whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan on Sept 15. However, it was rejected without any feedback from the opposition, she added.
"In my discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister (Fadillah), it was noted that the negotiation process between the government and the opposition has essentially stalled because the opposition has yet to provide any official feedback. Therefore, there is no reason for the government to resume negotiations.
"To use an analogy, it's as if the government has made a proposal to the opposition, but since there was no reply... it wouldn’t be appropriate for the government to propose again,” she said. - BERNAMA
