JOHOR BARU, Sept 27 — Johor PKR deputy chief Jimmy Puah Wee Tse today urged the state government to provide equal allocations to all assemblymen, regardless if they are from the ruling coalition or the Opposition.

Puah said being one of the 56 assemblymen in Johor, he is hopeful that the state government will follow Putrajaya’s move where all assemblymen are given equal allocations. 

“Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad can prove the “Johor Way” is also as good or better than the federal government’s way by channelling equal allocation to all assemblymen in the state,” he said in a statement today.

Puah, who is the Bukit Batu assemblyman, was responding to Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mastura Mohd Yazid’s announcement last Thursday in the Dewan Rakyat that equal allocations would be given to both government and Opposition MPs.

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He said the announcement respects the spirit and principles of democracy without discrimination against Opposition MPs or the voters.

“Such implementation should go beyond this term and also by the new government after the 15th general election, where it must continue such policy regardless of the background or party symbol of an elected representative,” he said.

At present, Puah pointed out that only the ruling coalition’s assemblymen in Johor receive additional annual allocations compared to Opposition assemblymen.

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He said Opposition assemblymen are only given access to emergency allocations, office management and rakyat’s activities but not for the development allocation of RM100,000, which is equally important for the well-being of the people within their respective constituencies. 

Puah said that if the federal government is prepared to do an MoU on equal allocation terms as the Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN) government have a slim majority, then the present Johor state government has a much slimmer majority.

“It is better to reflect on the current political reality that requires state government wisdom and close cooperation between the two parties for the sake of political stability and the welfare of the people,” he said.

In August, the Johor government announced an additional allocation of RM11.1 million for all assemblymen and state constituency special coordination committees to assist the people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the state assembly session, Hasni announced an additional RM150,000 for each of the 56 assemblymen and RM100,000 for the 27 state constituency special coordination committees.

In July, the state government allocated RM4.15 million to all assemblymen and state constituency special coordination committees, with each of them receiving RM50,000.

In the first state economic stimulus package, the government gave all 56 assemblymen RM20,000 each.

Last year, the state government tripled the allocation for assemblymen from RM50,000 to RM150,000, under the Johor Budget 2021.