The think tank’s CEO, Ali Salman, noting “concerns” over the funding, said the think tank had always been open about it and had never tried to conceal the fact.
In an open letter, he said the think tank had always acted transparently and with independence even when it received money from the tobacco industry.
He revealed that some in the IDEAS team had raised similar issues and that it had been a subject of disagreement within the team.
“But, we are all agreed that we do not want this issue to distract from our priorities of developing a competitive economy in Malaysia, ensuring trust in Malaysia’s institutions and promoting inclusive social development.
“As a result, we decided at a meeting of the IDEAS board in December 2018 that we would no longer accept grants from tobacco companies.”
A report in The Guardian of UK had claimed that the tobacco industry funding had clouded the think tank’s stand on tobacco controls. On Jan 25, Ali denied this, saying the report was “incorrect and misleading”.
The Guardian report said think-tanks from countries such as Malaysia, Chile and Australia had received funding from the tobacco industry, even “as they argued against tobacco controls”.
It said: “In March 2017, Malaysia’s health ministry hoped to reduce that grim tally by floating a plan to sharply increase cigarette taxes, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and proposed by Deputy Health Minister Dr Hilmi Yahaya in the nation’s legislature.
“The plan would increase the price of a pack from £3.17 (RM17.11) to £3.91 (RM21.11), a significant hike of 23% – and exactly the kind of move proven to cut smoking and related illness and death, experts said. But not everyone thought this was a good idea.
“Opponents included a politically connected think-tank called IDEAS.”
Ali today reiterated that IDEAS’ goal was to be an independent think tank, substantively contributing to the policy debate in Malaysia.
“We have no endowment or central support from the government. Since our founding, we have relied on the generosity of our donors and grant-making organisations to pursue our research.
“We receive grants from a variety of different sources, including foundations and the private sector, based here in Malaysia and overseas.
“Our decision about whether to accept these grants is always taken on the basis of whether or not we feel confident that our independence will be respected and whether the focus of the research is in line with our mission of promoting liberty and justice in Malaysia.
“Our research is always conducted on the basis of the evidence available to us and guided by our four founding principles — rule of law, free markets, limited governments and individual liberty.”
Ali said IDEAS had been transparent about its funding, providing detailed information in its audit reports, available on its website.
“This includes names of all grant-making organisations, which has in the past included tobacco companies.
“This is never something we have actively sought to conceal and it is this publicly available information which is the basis for the recent reports in the media.
“In all our grant agreements, we include a clause on editorial independence to ensure that our freedom to say what we truly think is protected.
“This has been the basis on which we have accepted research grants from any and all organisations, including tobacco companies.”