Depriving opposition MPs of funds is grossly unfair

IS it  a  crime if  an MP  becomes  an  opposition member in parliament?
It has been shown by the current government that an MP is deemed to have committed a serious offence by joining the opposition, so much so that he/she cannot enjoy the same privileges given to members of the coalition.
It is an undemocratic trend that I term ‘money politics’.
It means that money is used as a selfish strategy to make MPs powerless and submit to the authority of  a tyrant government against their individual morals or value judgment.
As an eligible voter in Rabaul, I find  it  an  insult to our people when our  district services fund  allocation  in 2013 was only K3 million instead of the appropriated K10 million.
We were one of the first districts to submit our five-year development plan (2013-2017) and yet we were denied our funds.
Although we were allocated K4 million early this year, it is still injustice to our people because it was a 2013 appropriation.
I also learnt that four other opposition  MPs  did  not  receive  their full district services improvement funds.
The new trend that Prime Minister Peter O’Neill maintains could be seen  as  institutionalised  dictatorship. It is part of a trend in PNG politics whereby opposition MPs are deprived  of  their  development  grants so that they are lured to join forces with the government.
An honest prime minister will allow a well-resourced and vibrant opposition to keep checks and balances on its performance so that he/she can learn from weaknesses and  improve  his/her  public  popularity.
An  opposition that is also a ‘government  in  waiting’  should be judged based  on  their  ability  to propose alternative legislations and public policies.
It must not be targeted by the government through money politics.

John Watmelik
Rabaul