He said the aim of the proposals made by civil society was to support political parties and ensure they had enough money, provided there was disclosure and transparency.
“The opposition is spending so much time running around looking for money that they might not even have time to actually sit down and draft sound public policies.
“I have also told opposition leaders that they can’t be organising dinner after dinner to raise money,” he said at a forum titled “Public funding of political parties: Breaking the curse of money politics” at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall here today.
Gomez said the proposals included the introduction of public funding for political parties, which would reduce the financial advantage enjoyed by Barisan Nasional (BN).
“Public funding for political parties is important. It will level the playing field and reduce the advantage that BN has. It makes the election more compelling, theoretically.”
In October, political parties were briefed by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (Integriti), which is the secretariat in charge of drafting the Political Donations and Expenditure Act Bill.
Leaders from Pakatan Harapan and PAS, who attended the briefing, reportedly maintained reservations on the draft of the bill.
Some expressed distrust and fear that the new law might be used against the opposition.
Gomez said the government should have allowed the proposals for the new law to be debated.
“It’s coming up to a general election and this has yet to be debated on.
“This is what upsets me, it needs to be debated now. The next general election will see the biggest abuse of money.”
Gomez also said that public funding for parties must be complemented by institutional reforms.
“We need to have reforms to ensure checks and balances. If we propose public funding with institutional reforms, will the opposition accept our comprehensive proposals?”
Also in the forum panel were political analyst Wong Chin Huat and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, while Bersih steering committee member Rama Ramanathan was the moderator.
Yesterday, Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Akhbar Satar expressed disappointment that the government had yet to pass a law to regulate political funding, blaming a lack of political will for the delay.