Table Political Funding Act to differentiate graft from funding, IDEAS urge
SHAH ALAM - A think tank has urged Putrajaya to reopen the Political Funding Act draft that's just been “sitting at the attorney-general chambers”, since 2020 as laws are needed to differentiate political funds from graft.
However, it said the laws should not victimise the opposition as companies may feel they are at risk of funding opposition parties.
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) chief executive officer Tricia Yeoh said there have been no updates after Pakatan Harapan (PH) had drafted the laws.
“We should urge the government to immediately update us as to what is happening with the Act," she told Sinar Daily.
She also agreed with ex-top graft buster Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad who told Sinar Daily that Political Funding laws "should have been tabled sooner", this comes as the nation gears for the 15th General Elections speculated to be held this year.
However, Yeoh said there is a lack of political will to push for the laws. "There has been no movement on it because there is no political champion in the Cabinet to push for it.
“There just needs to be a convincing and persuasive argument to all political parties. They need to know that many of the problems they are facing such as political instability and lack of transparency surrounding political funding can be resolved if the political funding Act exists," she added.
It could also be part of political reforms the country is aiming to achieve, she added.
However, she cautioned that the laws should not victimise opposition parties.
“There is also a risk that companies that donate are afraid of transparency which has happened in the past, but if the tabling keeps getting delayed, it just means that the affected parties are worried it would affect them ahead of the 15th general election (GE15),” she added.
The Pakatan Harapan government had tried to introduce a similar Bill before its collapse in February 2020.
In October 2019, then law minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong said the Political Funding Bill would be tabled in Parliament in 2020, pending feedback and suggestions from the ministries.
Liew had said the Bill would focus on the regulatory aspect of political contributions, which is fundamental in efforts to eliminate corruption and create a corruption-free ecosystem among future generations based on the principles of transparency, accountability and integrity.
