All MPs and state assemblymen have a fixed peruntukan to be given out as grant. The objective of this is to:
1) Help local development;
2) Strengthen the relationship between the local community and the wakil rakyat;
3) Helping class F bumiputra contractors;
4) Boost up the image of the government elected by the rakyat.
For MPs, peruntukan is approved by the Prime Minister and in the case of state assemblymen, it is approved by the MB. However, this power is often delegated to the federal or state development director.
The allocation of peruntukan is often a challenge to wakil rakyat since the amount allocated to each wakil rakyat is limited. For MPs, it ranges from RM500,000 to RM1.5 million. For state assemblyman, it is normally only about RM75,000 to RM250,000 depending on the state. A Wakil rakyat needs to allocate peruntukan according to needs. However, there is tendency to give people who are supportive and known to you. Some wakil rakyat regard peruntukan as the means to strengthen their position within the party. Hence, they only give priorities to applications from their own party members and this often give rise to dissatisfaction among some NGOs who have no political affiliations to the Wakil Rakyat.
Most Wakil Rakyat cannot rise above politics; hence they do not give to opposition members. BN Wakil Rakyat is unlikely to give peruntukan to any organizations run by PR. In the same way, it is unlikely that the PR Wakil Rakyat will give peruntukan to organizations run by BN leaders. This is politics.
While the Wakil Rakyat has fixed peruntukan, they have no right to approve. They can only make recommendations to the state or the federal development officer. There are projects that are not allowed to be given:
1) Projects that have been executed before the peruntukan is approved;
2) Projects/programs for political body or associations;
3) Projects/programs to entities that carry out commercial activities and benefits from it.
Wakil Rakyat has to constantly monitor the peruntukan given so that there is no duplication and no grants given to projects that are not allowed as mentioned above. Basically, all peruntukan should be given fairly with the focus on the needs of the rakyat.
If peruntukan is handled wisely by Wakil Rakyat, it will definitely boost up the image of wakil rakyat. It will go a long way to strengthen his relationship with the local community. However, if it is not handled properly, it can be the Achilles’ heel on his popularity, both within the party and the community.
4 comments:
Dear Datuk Seri
Thank you for making clear the working of the Wakil Rakyat allocation. This is all wrong. This is blatant politically driven. No wonder BN is so hated. No wonder there is so much corruption. This is so sick.
Dr Chua,
We all know how the RM was being used. If we ask the MP or state assemblymen to list down the accounts for the use of the $$$, we are sure to be shocked. In Ipoh area before BN looses the seat to PR, those $$$ is used to install "DECORATIVE" lights on some over head bridges, those lights cost ~10k EACH unit, the same real thing we can find in the lighting shops will only cost RM500 max. So after PR won and some hanky panky pass over back to BN, Zambry is smart to use the "Peruntukan" to widen the roads and increase the parking space in Ipoh (especially Bercham where DAP won). (The previous MB of Perak is capable only to install the decorative lights). But the question is how long they will properly use the funds? Who is monitoring them? Is there a record of the spending published? If all these spending was publish as a public report, we would be able to track the improvement.
The only YB who took the effort to itemise every sen spent was Ong Tee Keat. He published it in his website.
Dr,
Thanks for presenting a difficult and often confusing subject in simple english.
Hope you will persevere and have the strength and to do what is right. Surely the phoenix will arise from the ashes.
OTK can post anything on his blog, including the infamous poll. I hope he will continue to put up more of it instead of doing a vanishing act. Also more important is often what he did not want others to know.
At the end of the day, I think he is only after power and more power. He is only for himself and maintaining his position is of paramount importance, the well being of MCA is probably the last thing on his mind.
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