SHAH ALAM: Twelve Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblymen, all from Umno, have turned down a proposal from the Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor government to allocate RM200,000 annually to all opposition representatives in the state through Program Mesra Rakyat (people-friendly programmes).

Selangor opposition leader Datuk Mohd Shamsudin Lias said the 12 BN assemblymen are  objecting to the proposal as the state’s proposed allocation for BN representatives differs from that for Pakatan representatives.

“This is a humiliation for us,” he told a press conference at the state assembly’s lobby yesterday.

“We contested in the general election and were elected by the people,” said Mohd Shamsudin.

“What makes them [so different from us  that] they get more money?” he asked.

“We also [question the reason given by the state] for such an allocation to the state-appointed Parliament and state constituency coordinators,” he added.

Tabling Budget 2015 at the state assembly sitting on Monday, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali proposed to allocate RM200,000 annually to all opposition representatives in the state, who were previously given nothing.

This comes with a proposal to raise the annual allocation to RM700,000 from RM600,000 for Pakatan representatives and for state-appointed Parliament coordinators to get RM100,000 a year.

However,  Mohd Shamsudin said the 12 BN assemblymen “will consider” the proposal if the state were to also offer them the same proposed annual allocation of RM700,000.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 26, 2014