Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Armizan Ali said there is a need for a monitoring mechanism as there is no specific law to oversee the fundraising efforts of NGOs.

“Taking into account past experiences, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, numerous fundraisers were organised by various parties.

“The government is considering oversight in terms of governance, approvals and related disaster fundraising matters by NGOs,” he said, in response to a supplementary question by Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Shahidan had asked whether the government had plans to establish a management mechanism for contributions collected by NGOs, citing the example of an NGO which he claimed had retained 12% of contributions for its own operational costs.

Armizan said the move to consider regulation aligns with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s request to re-examine disaster relief initiatives when tabling the 12th Malaysia Plan mid-term review.