EQUAL allocations would be given to government and Opposition MPs over the next four months, says Datuk Mastura Mohd Yazid, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of special functions.

       “The Prime Minister has agreed to provide equal allocations to all lawmakers from September to December,” she said during his ministerial reply at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday on the motion of thanks on the Royal Address.

       “The Prime Minister is committed towards carrying out parliamentary reforms,” she added, drawing thumps of approval from lawmakers.

       Mastura said the allocation is in addition to what had already been allocated under the government’s five-year plan.

       She noted that formerly, allocations had differed between government and Opposition MPs based on previous policy and the government’s financial ability.

       The announcement comes after the government and Opposition signed a memorandum of understanding on Sept 13 for a bipartisan effort towards reforms and stability for the nation.

       On a separate matter, Mastura said a total of RM21.37mil was provided as bereavement aid to families whose family members have died of Covid-19.

       “There were 6,248 applications for the bereavement assistance, of which 4,274 were approved,” she said, adding that 1,962 applications are still being processed.

       She said that 12 applications were rejected as the deaths were not due to Covid-19.

       The aid comes under the National Disaster Management Agency and provides one-off special assistance of RM5,000 to Malaysian citizens for the funeral management of their next of kin who die of Covid-19.