GE15: Declaring assets won't become a trend, unless it is required under the law

SHAH ALAM - Declaring assets is done as an effort by political candidates to prove to the public that they are free from corruption.

The purpose was for the public to be able to access their politicians' yearly financial records and see if their assets increased suspiciously so that they could raise questions about it.

However, analysts predicted that this will not become a growing trend.

Professor Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin said declaring assets was a voluntary act by politicians.

However, he said there were too many pros and cons that needed to be considered by the candidates for the asset declaration to really become a trend.

“Let’s see how many of the 900-odd contesting candidates are willing to do it.

"It shall be history if more than 450 are willing to declare their assets publicly,” he told Sinar Daily.

Meanwhile Professor Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said although it was a good thing to do, asset declaration was not a requirement under the Election Offences Act 1954.

He said politicians declaring their assets to the public was more of a strategy to gain voters' support.

"It (asset declaration) is not required by the law. It was up to them (politicians) if they want to do it or not.

“So, I think it’s more of a strategy for the candidates to lure the support of the electorate to them,” he said.

On the other hand, Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said it may become a trend if it was to be made compulsory for Members of Parliament to declare their assets

Currently, only Cabinet members were required to declare their assets upon appointment.

“Candidates wanted to be transparent, to show what they have and to an extent, they can convince the voters that there are no malpractices or irregularities in their previous practices,” he said when contacted.

In a move towards transparency, more politicians have declared their assets starting with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Rafizi Ramli and now most of the PKR candidates.

This included its president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and their daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar.