Agih peruntukan guna konsep ‘asas saksama, keperluan berbeza’, kerajaan disaran

Analysts suggest a hybrid formula for allocating funding to parliamentary constituencies to address the financial structure challenges between urban and rural areas. Petaling Jaya has been urged by the government to implement a hybrid formula to ensure a considerate allocation of funding for parliamentary constituencies, following suggestions from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Tawfik Yaakub, an analyst from the University of Malaya, proposes the concept of 'fairness, different needs', which involves setting a basic fund for all constituencies and then adding more based on the actual burden of the area. Additional indicators should include population size, poverty level, and socio-economic vulnerability, he said.

He further recommends using the number of citizens instead of voters for funds related to development and social assistance, as children and unregistered individuals also benefit from public facilities. Tawfik highlights the financial challenges faced by rural areas, with a poverty rate of 10.0% compared to 3.7% in urban areas, according to data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia 2024.

He proposes a funding formula based on at least four components: basic funding, population size, poverty level, and geographical factors. This aligns with the principle that funding is for the development of the people, not a reward for parliamentary members. Just recently, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to provide equal funding for all parliamentary members and subsequently introduced legislation to guarantee consistent funding.

DAP leader Gobind Singh Deo said that an undetermined law mandating equal funding for all parliamentary members would eliminate political favoritism in the distribution of development funds and protect voter rights. Reform-oriented NGO Bersih responded positively to the call and urged the government to pass legislation to ensure all parliamentary members receive development funding based on the principle of fairness and efficiency, creating a transparent and comprehensive formula-based public fund distribution system and providing detailed guidelines related to the Community Development Fund (CDF).

Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan continued the call, stating that the principle of fairness in funding must be accompanied by a regional approach based on the number of voters, in addition to considering each constituency's specific circumstances. Azmi Hassan from the Nusantara Academy said that funding should be given based on needs rather than one-off payments without projects or programs, to incentivize parliamentary members to undertake projects beneficial to the people.

He believes that providing equal funding to all constituencies is an eloquent theory on paper, but with 222 parliamentary areas, one constituency might receive as much as RM100,000.