MalayMail-Dec 9
Malaysia needs to introduce a new law to make it clear what politicians can legally receive as “political donation”, and what would amount to bribery or corruption, non-governmental organisation Projek SAMA said today. Projek SAMA member Wo Chang Xi said that it is not enough to just stop at ensuring that the Attorney General in Malaysia is accountable and transparent about the exercise of his discretion to drop corruption cases against politicians. To truly prevent corruption from happening among politicians, he said Projek SAMA is also pushing for political financing reform in Malaysia which will require politicians and political parties to be transparent. The Projek SAMA report lists these three recommendations: To make introducing a Political Financing Act a priority, To reform the Election Offences Act 1954, To introduce public funding for political parties or election candidates, based on the votes they received. Apart from closing “loopholes” in rules on election campaigns, he said having public funding can reduce the possibility of conflict of interest or corruption, as political parties can reduce reliance on private donations. “Because we know private donation sometimes comes with a price, you need to pay back, either by policies or patronage,” he said, noting that private donation typically meant “the richer you are, you can get more influence in the political arena.” The other major recommendation in Projek SAMA’s report is to reform prosecutorial structure and oversight. Read more at:
