'Missing' allocations: MP takes govt to court

By Rahmah Ghazali - Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: An opposition leader has dragged the government to court over its failure to provide allocations for the Sungai Siput parliamentary constituency for the past three years.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia's (PSM) Dr D Jeyakumar, who is also the MP for Sungai Siput, filed for a judicial review with the High Court here this morning.

In his 12-page application, he named director-general of the implementation and coordination unit of the Prime Minister's Department, director of the Perak State Development Office and the government as respondents.

The application was filed through lawyer Daniel Albert from Sreenevasan Advocates and Solicitors.

Jeyakumar was also seeking reliefs, among others, that a writ of “quo warranto” (court order) be issued against the respondents and that each of them show cause and give information as to their authority to exercise, vest and/or delegate the discretion to approve and disburse funds from the Federal Consolidated Funds which are allocated in Budget 2010 and any annual federal budget to the Prime Minister's Department.

The application also stated that the government's failure to provide allocations went against Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution where the Special Constituency Allocation must be provided and be available to all Members of Parliament equally.

Speaking to reporters later, Jeyakumar said that he had not received any allocation since he won the constituency in the 2008 general election after defeating MIC president S Samy Vellu.

'Missing' funds

The MP said his numerous applications to the government and land office for the allocations were turned down for no apparent reason.

“When I became MP, I applied in 2008, 2009 and this year as well but I didn’t get a single sen. I also heard that all MPs from the opposition did not get (the allocations). The funds were only provided to BN MPs,” he said.

Although the allocation scheme had been in existence since 1975, he said, no opposition MP had received the funds.

"When I wrote again, they said that Sungai Siput received RM950,000 in 2008. However, they refused to answer when I asked who were given the funds.

“So every year they say they give allocations but I do not get any answer when I ask who received the money," he said.

Jeyakumar said he received a letter recently, stating that RM1.7 million was allocated to Sungai Siput from funds provided under the Prime Minister’s Office.

"It also said the funds were dispersed to a Chinese school, a Methodist school and an orphanage. When I checked with the schools, they said they never received the funds," he added.

He also claimed that he was in the dark over the amount of allocations, as the amount for each year was different.

Asked about his chances in winning the case, Jeyakumar replied: "We will give a good fight. When I fought in Sungai Siput (against Samy Vellu), many people said I had no chance of winning. But I want to be realistic. Let's push the boundaries and we see what happens.”