Political financing laws risk exposing donors: Subang MP

KUALA LUMPUR – Lawmakers from both sides of the political divide may have reservations about political financing reform as the move could expose donors, but such an excuse has become harder to justify with better crowdfunding technology, said Subang MP Wong Chen.

“It is easier to get RM1 million from one donor than RM1,000 from 1,000 donors,” the PKR lawmaker said during a Bersih 2.0 webinar titled Public Funding of Political Parties in Malaysia.

Instead, he called for a deeper study into the motivation and behaviour of politicians, before reforming political financing laws.

“(For example), if you bring in more donations, the higher the chance of you getting promoted and rising through the ranks.”

Wong recommended a state like Selangor to implement a system of indirect funding for political parties, allowing subsidised use of public facilities and access to state media machinery.

As for the federal level, he suggested that RM10 or RM20 per vote will make parties comfortable enough to not have to seek donors, but noted that the above recommendations may face opposition from not only politicians, but also voters, who may question the need for taxpayers’ money to go into the coffers of these parties.

Bersih, in its latest report on political financing launched yesterday, said state governments should take the lead in implementing political financing policies, but added that the move may not sit well with politicians from both sides of the divide.

The electoral watchdog recommended a vote-based system to be included in the policies, where parties will receive public funds based on the number of votes captured during an election.

But for a party to qualify for such funds, it must capture at least 2% of votes and, because only 14.4% of Parliament comprises female lawmakers, Bersih recommends a party receive extra funds should its female candidates win seats.

Researcher Ooi Kok Hin said Bersih’s policies will benefit the public as parties will be less reliant on public funding, while Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism executive director Cynthia Gabriel said private political financing is the “mother of all corruption”.

“Former Federal Territories minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (who is also Putrajaya Umno chief) had a developer bribe him for permits to build property. In the testimonies, the monies were for the political party.

“But Umno did not receive any money. It was alleged that Tengku Adnan had pocketed it instead,” Cynthia said, adding that political financing reform must come from the people, with voters empowered to scrutinise such money flow.

Former National Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre deputy director-general Datuk Anis Yusal Yusoff said past regimes under Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) had mooted reforms on political financing.

But, he added, BN only looked into the act as a matter of regulating political donations.

He said PH had also planned to introduce laws to govern political funding and lobbying, but the focus again shifted to regulating political donations.

“A draft bill was prepared and submitted to Parliament (during the PH administration), with a select committee to discuss the matter and review it before tabling.

“Then, when the Perikatan Nasional administration took over in March last year, we heard that they are trying to address some of the issues we discussed.

“We need to establish some rules and regulations on the management of political funds to generate trust from the public.” – The Vibes, January 26, 2021