KUALA LUMPUR – DAP vice-chairman Nga Kor Ming has accused Perikatan Nasional (PN) for “purposely looking for issues” in the draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) by the government on parliamentary allocations for the opposition.
Speaking to reporters today, Nga, who is also DAP’s chief whip in Parliament, said PN’s rejection of the draft MoU also showed the opposition coalition was against national harmony, as one of the conditions in the agreement was to cease from hateful and divisive speech.
“All of the conditions set (by the government) are for the nation’s benefit and betterment. For example, we asked that if they (PN MPs) were to receive (parliamentary) allocations, all the rich opposition MPs would have to declare their assets.
“It’s a simple request, but they don’t even want to do that. They’re scared (and) stubborn,” Nga told a press conference after a housing and local government ministry event in Papar, Sabah.
“They (also) intentionally want to wreck the country…We actually invited them to join us in building our nation (towards) a strong Malaysia, (instead) of igniting racial flames everyday (as) that is not good.
“We should unite the people instead of dividing them, but they couldn’t even agree to this. What can we do? We didn’t impose any unreasonable conditions.”
Nga added that he “doesn’t understand” why PN rejected the MoU draft, saying: “The reasons they have given don’t make sense.”
Yesterday, PN secretary-general and opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the coalition rejected the draft for four reasons, including that it “contravened” the Federal Constitution.
He claimed several conditions imposed in the MoU could affect the special privileges of the Malays and Bumiputera that are guaranteed under the constitution.
Hamzah also said the drafts lacked “clear mechanism” on how funds are to be disbursed, allowing for non-compliance and infringement ex-parte.
PN also took issue with the draft MoU over conditions regarding divisive speech, saying this stifled MPs’ freedom of speech. – September 16, 2024