Seremban: A total of 17 Pakatan Harapan (PH) state assemblymen, including six who were unseated in the recent state election, along with two constituency coordinators in Negeri Sembilan, have been instructed to return allocations received from July to September within a month.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Menteri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim stated that the decision for repayment was made because these individuals no longer held any official roles following the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly on June 5. The allocations were initially approved during a State Executive Council (Exco) meeting on June 3 and subsequently disbursed into their accounts the following day.

The funds, aimed at supporting service centres and enhancing the well-being of the people, were distributed to the ADUNs and coordinators from the Paroi and Labu constituencies. Each ADUN is required to return RM174,000, while each coordinator must repay RM150,000.

During a press briefing after chairing the Exco meeting, Ismail highlighted that former Exco members, including ex-Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, maintained their ex-officio status until July 31. This status allowed them to utilize the allocations for July, even though the Exco members received a total of RM225,000 for the three-month period. They are only obligated to return RM150,000 for August and September.

Ismail mentioned that his office would soon issue formal letters demanding the repayment from all involved parties. Additionally, he announced the state government's decision to appoint Datuk VS Mogan, Rembau MIC Division chief, as the Coordinating Officer for Indian Community Affairs with Exco-member status, effective from September 1.