In line with Putrajaya’s National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP), he said amendments would be made to the Election Offences Act 1954 to include the abuse of government assets and machinery for elections.
Wan Junaidi also told the Dewan Rakyat that the government would issue a circular on “integrity filtering” for government-linked company (GLC) appointments.
He said the NACP also called for the enactment of policies on political appointments in GLCs, as well as asset declarations by members of the government.
However, he did not give any details or a timeline as to when the amendments would be made or the circular issued.
On calls for a Political Funding Act to be drafted and tabled soon, Wan Junaidi said the ministry had been given until December next year to study the issue, adding that engagements with stakeholders had yet to start.
“Studies on the bill are ongoing, focusing on the aspect of the regulation of political donations based on the principles of transparency and accountability. The Act will also consider the views of stakeholders to ensure it is implemented effectively.
“This is a must, because the implications are big. We want to see a comprehensive and holistic Act that meets the demands of all parties,” he said in winding-up the debate on matters pertaining to his portfolio under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
He also said there was no need for private firms to conduct second audits on government departments, except for specific audits on certain aspects that needed such scrutiny.
Responding to a point raised by Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Pejuang-Langkawi) during the debate, Wan Junaidi said the National Audit Department (NAD) was allowed to outsource audits to private firms based on the Audit Act 1957.
However, he said, there had been instances where the NAD found that audits conducted by private firms were not comprehensive and had failed to report non-compliance to accounting standards.
“This shows that there are instances where auditors in the public sector are better than auditors from private audit firms. Therefore, the NAD’s view is that there is no need for a second audit by private firms.”