Bersatu signs confidence and supply pact with Madani govt, says MPs to get same allocations as govt backbenchers

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Bersatu has signed a confidence and supply agreement (CSA) with the Madani government, pledging its support for the Supply Bill 2027, or Budget 2027, The Star reported.

According to the English daily, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the agreement would allow the party’s MPs to receive the same constituency development allocations as government backbenchers.

“I signed on behalf of Bersatu and there are also the other six who previously showed support to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“There are also matters concerning institutional reforms, including proposals to limit the Prime Minister’s tenure to a maximum of two terms and to separate the powers of the Attorney General.

“In return, the government has decided to provide our MPs with the same constituency development allocations as government MPs,” he told reporters after the signing ceremony at Parliament. 

Muhyiddin said the agreement followed a similar arrangement during the administration of former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, when Anwar was the opposition leader.

“Its sole purpose is to create a more stable situation in the country so that important matters affecting the people, particularly the economy and cost of living, can continue to be addressed.

“With this agreement, stability can help the government manage the country more effectively. We, particularly Bersatu and the opposition, will continue to fulfil our responsibility to provide checks and balances.

“This agreement does not mean we are giving up our responsibility as the opposition. We remain the opposition,” he was quoted as saying.

Asked what would happen if either side breached the agreement, Muhyiddin said the terms provided for such a situation, the report said.

“If something has been agreed upon but is not adhered to, the party concerned, whether the government or the political party, may take action, which could lead to the termination of the CSA we signed today,” he was quoted as saying. 

Asked why Bersatu had signed the agreement now, nearly a year before Parliament is due to be dissolved, Muhyiddin said the party had hoped for such an arrangement from the beginning.

“Today, I am the only one who has signed it. There are one or two other parties on the opposition side, and I do not know why they have not entered into an agreement. That is their issue.

“From the beginning, we had asked for all MPs to be given equal allocations. When I was prime minister, allocations were given to all MPs, from both the government and the opposition.

“But under the current Prime Minister, he said perhaps the time had not yet come. Today, that time has come,” he said.

The Star reported that Muda’s Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was also involved in the signing, which was facilitated by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said and Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

Bersatu vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, Putrajaya MP Datuk Radzi Jidin and Langkawi MP Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah were among those attending the ceremony, according to the report.