KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) has criticised the draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding Opposition allocations, saying it was prepared solely by the government without any discussions.

PN chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the draft MoU should have been created through discussions between PN and the government, not by one party alone, according to a report published in Berita Harian today.

“This shouldn’t have happened. In legal practice, any party wishing to draft an MoU or agreement must do so through discussions, and from those discussions, the MoU is formed.

“What happened instead was that there was no discussion at all between the government and PN, even though the prime minister had earlier requested that discussions take place between PN and the government, represented by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

“In fact, I was entrusted to meet with Datuk Seri Fadillah three times, but no discussions were held before the draft MoU was given to PN on August 6,” he said during a press conference at the PAS office in Kota Baru today.

Takiyuddin, who is also the PAS secretary-general, described the MoU draft as biased, lacking in freedom, and contradictory to the constitution.

“No sensible MP would accept the MoU as it stands, and if Pakatan Harapan (PH) were in opposition, we believe they wouldn’t accept this MoU either.

“On this basis, we reject the draft MoU,” he said.

Earlier, the media reported that PN had unanimously rejected two draft MoU proposals from the government regarding allocations for PN MPs.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin was quoted saying that the decision to reject the MoU drafts, which involved the government and PN as well as all PN MPs, was based on four fundamental reasons.

Hamzah claimed that the MoU proposal contradicted the Federal Constitution, cultural, moral, and religious values, and could lead to misinterpretation, abuse of power, and restrict freedom.

A day after PN’s rejection, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof revealed the full contents of the MoU draft regarding allocations for opposition MPs, which had been rejected by Hamzah.

According to Fadillah, he disclosed the details because the Opposition preferred to make public statements through the media.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/09/18/no-sensible-mp-will-accept-one-sided-mou-on-opposition-allocations-says-perikatan-chief-whip/150818