Fix unfair rules now or regret it when in opposition, says MP

Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee, a member of the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), has warned government MPs that they could soon face the same constraints and financial difficulties that opposition MPs currently endure if parliamentary rules are not revised. During a debate on the 2027 budget in the Dewan Rakyat, Kiandee urged the administration to amend parliamentary regulations while it still holds the authority to do so.

Key proposals include guaranteeing equal constituency allocations for all MPs through legislation, facilitating greater accessibility to no-confidence motions in the Dewan Rakyat, and revising the anti-hopping law.

Kiandee argued that constituency allocations must be protected by law to guarantee that opposition MPs receive the same financial support as their government counterparts, irrespective of which party is in power. He revealed that his own party, Barisan Nasional, neglected to implement this provision when it was in government, leaving its MPs without allocations after the coalition lost the 2018 general election.

"We wanted to cry then, but it was our own fault for not making it the law," he lamented during the budget debate.

In addition to allocating funds, Kiandee called for reforms to parliamentary rules to prevent no-confidence motions against the government from being sidelined. He also criticized the anti-hopping law, stating that it had failed to deter political defections while penalizing MPs, such as himself, who have been unjustly suspended by their parties but are unable to join new political alliances.

"The anti-hopping law has not stopped defections, but it has punished those of us who have been mistreated by our parties," he stated, expressing his disappointment as a suspended Bersatu vice-president.

Kiandee warned that if another government takes control, his fellow MPs might soon confront identical restrictions and funding challenges. "If there is a change of government, they will complain just as we are complaining now," he cautioned, emphasizing the urgency of the matter.