Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low said this is because voters are not obliged to back the party or individual who sponsored the trip.
“Does that influence someone to vote for you? I don’t think so.
“So, unless the person says to a voter, ‘I give you the money provided you vote for me’, then giving such funds cannot be considered an act of bribery,” said Low, who is in charge of governance, integrity and human rights.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a regional conference this morning.
Low, who formerly headed Transparency International-Malaysia, was asked to respond to MACC, which stated that offering such allowances was considered a bribe in the eyes of the law.
In an interview with Sin Chew daily, MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Azam Baki said offering voters any form of inducement, be it cash or gifts, is deemed a bribe.
“However, if politicians were to offer genuine aid, such as rice or a donation to poor folk, this would not constitute a bribe,” Azam was quoted as saying.
Low said, however, that unless there was evidence that a voter was enticed to cast his or her ballot for a particular candidate, it does not constitute bribery.