He was referring to a Malaysiakini report that quoted Tengku Adnan as saying he would not declare his assets publicly as it would make his family a target for criminals.
Tengku Adnan also said he and the Kuala Lumpur mayor declared their assets annually, although the declarations was not made public.
In a statement issued to FMT today, Fahmi said Tengku Adnan and Kuala Lumpur Mayor Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz had nothing to fear in publicly declaring their assets as police would ensure their safety and the safety of all Malaysians from criminals.
“In fact, if the policy of declaring public assets to the public were to be carried out not only in KL but also in Putrajaya, I am sure we will be able to save Malaysia from ‘Malaysian Official 1’ and Kuala Lumpur from individuals like ‘DBKL Official 1’,” he said.
Last Monday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission detained a Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) executive director, with a “Datuk Seri” title, along with two other top government officers from Kelantan and Malacca for allegedly accepting bribes, misusing power and involvement in money laundering.
Fahmi said the system that currently existed where ministers declared their assets to higher authorities in their respective ministries was not good enough.
“Tengku Adnan said that he declares his assets to the Prime Minister (Najib Razak) every year, while the Kuala Lumpur Mayor declares his assets to the secretary of state, but this system is obviously not enough and must be overhauled since it has failed to identify and prevent the accumulation of property allegedly owned by a “Datuk Seri” from DBKL (also known as ‘DBKL Official 1’), who the MACC arrested last week,” he said.
He added that in the context of Kuala Lumpur, taxpayers were not given the right to choose their mayor or DBKL’s Advisory Board members.
“Therefore, the processes of check and balance against those who have executive decision-making powers, including the Federal Territories Minister must be at a level that is higher than it is now, including the public declaration of assets.”
On Friday, Fahmi called on Tengku Adnan and Amin Nordin to lead by example, by declaring their respective assets to the public. He made this call in response to a statement by Tengku Adnan that every department under the Federal Territories Ministry scrutinise the declaration of assets by officers to check corruption.