KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said there will be no reconciliation between the government and the opposition regarding opposition members' allocations following the latter's rejection of a draft MoU.
"They have already rejected it. Once someone has turned down a proposal (pinangan), why would you try to reconcile? (Rujuk)? It would be embarrassing," he said when reporters asked him about the latest update on the MoU.
He was speaking to the media after launching the opening ceremony of the National Integrity Month celebration here.
On Sept 15, opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin stated the opposition's rejection of the Mou draft, citing concerns it might conflict with the Federal Constitution.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) had cited terms in the draft that allegedly invited potential misinterpretation and alleged terms that were contrary to the principles in the Federal Constitution, conflicts with culture, moral and religious values, and aspects prone to abuse of power and which may potentially restrict the MPs' freedom of speech.
This prompted Fadillah to furnish proof to counter the claims made by the opposition about the MoU draft on Sept 16, while lambasting Hamzah's claim that the proposed MoU would "jeopardise the special rights of Malays and Bumiputeras" under the Federal Constitution.
Following that, Pas secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan urged the federal government to prepare a new MoU draft and to set up a special committee to discuss it. However, on Sept 20, PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reaffirmed PN's rejection of the MoU.