TI-M president Muhammad Mohan said that under the new act, it would be compulsory for elected representatives and senators to declare their assets, income and other relevant financial information in a public registry which will be openly available and updated at regular intervals.
Mohan said he welcomed the asset declaration by some members of the Cabinet on a public portal hosted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“However, the website, which was reported as ‘part of a move towards greater government transparency’, only features the income and net assets of 57 out of 70 members of Cabinet, with several key ministers and deputies missing from the declaration list,” he said.
Mohan added that the website did not give a breakdown of the sources of income or the roles of these lawmakers in organisations outside of the state and federal government.
He urged the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government to continue down its path of transparency and extend the requirement across all members of Parliament.
“MPs of the opposition declared their assets when the Pakatan Harapan government was in power, hence PH should have no qualms about continuing to be accountable to the electorate, regardless of which side of the Dewan Rakyat they may be seated.”
Mohan said that the asset declaration should also disclose all sources of income, roles held by the MPs, and a breakdown of their salaries and allowances.
“All elected officials are accountable and answerable to their electorate. The people are tired of being taken for a ride and inundated with scandals involving big businesses, taxpayers’ money and public officials,” he said.
TI-M is the second to recommend such a law after the MACC which also said that, as of now, no clear punishment could be taken against government officials who did not declare their assets.
MACC deputy chief commissioner Shamshun Baharin Mohd Jamil said there was no specific law on the declaration of assets, and the commission could not conduct any verification on the declaration documents received.
“Investigations are only conducted on individuals who are seen leading extravagant lifestyles beyond their income level under Section 36 of the MACC Act 2009,” he said.