The think tank’s CEO Tricia Yeoh said by allowing parties to accept funds from the public, it would reduce dependency on private contributions.

“It will also encourage transparency and greater women participation in politics,” she said in a statement.

Yeoh said this in response to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s announcement of various reforms on Monday, including the upcoming political financing bill.

Public funding, she added, was an important element that the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia had proposed in its version of the bill.

Yeoh went on to say that the move to widen asset declarations to include more people in public office as well as government-linked companies (GLCs) is a step in the right direction towards restoring the public’s trust in institutions.

“A few improvements can be further implemented … by making some asset declaration information accessible to the public and expanding the scope of declaration to immediate family members, such as spouses and children, to facilitate better identification of potential conflicts of interest.”

In a statement on Monday, Ismail said that the heads of GLCs and government-linked investment companies, as well as members of the judiciary, would be required to declare their assets under a new code of ethics to be announced by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

He added that the asset declaration mechanism for members of the government administration, MPs and senators would also be enhanced to boost the government’s credibility and integrity.