Pakatan Harapan (PH) has pledged to continue providing allocations to opposition assemblymen if it regains control of Melaka, maintaining a policy introduced when the coalition first governed the state in 2018.
Melaka PH chairman Adly Zahari said funding should be made available to all elected representatives to ensure they could carry out their responsibilities and serve their respective constituencies effectively.
The former chief minister said the PH administration was the first state government to extend allocations to opposition assemblymen when it took power in 2018.
Drawing from his own experience as an opposition representative, Adly said the lack of funding made it difficult to operate service centres and provide assistance to residents.
“It is extremely challenging if you are an assemblyman and receive absolutely no allocations. At the very least, there must be funding to operate a service centre,” he told reporters yesterday.
He acknowledged that assistance could also be channelled through district offices and government agencies, but maintained that direct state allocations remained important in helping opposition representatives serve the public.
The Bukit Katil PH candidate also proposed expanding Melaka’s digitalisation efforts through a new Smart Melaka system, which would allow residents to apply for assistance and submit complaints online.
He said the proposed platform would make the delivery of aid and handling of public complaints more transparent, while ensuring decisions were not influenced by political considerations.
Residents would also be able to track the progress of their complaints, including issues involving clogged drains and fallen trees.
At the same time, the system would allow the state government to monitor the action taken to resolve reported problems.
Adly is facing a four-cornered contest in Bukit Katil against Perikatan Nasional’s Ridzuan Sarif, Bersama’s Aliza Che Amran and independent candidate Abu Bakar Sabudin.
He won the seat in the 2021 state election with a majority of 1,057 votes.
The Election Commission has set November 14 as polling day, while early voting is scheduled for tomorrow.
