KUALA LUMPUR – Despite the lack of certain items in the freshly inked memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government and Pakatan Harapan (PH), Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming said other issues, such as the Political Financing Act (PFA), can be tabled for discussion.
“There was a need to focus on certain things more than others, which is why we decided to not put the PFA or delimitation of constituencies in.
“However, I believe that the spirit of the MoU will allow for discussions on such matters later on,” he said on the second day of a Transparency International Malaysia webinar titled Money Politics: Financing Free and Fair Elections.
He said the MoU details equal constituency financing for all MPs whose parties have signed the memorandum, and expressed hopes that this will be extended to those who did not sign the document.
“While this might not deal with the PFA directly, equal allocations for MPs and political representatives from both sides of the political scene will cause less pressure for fundraising.
“This is a big step moving towards maturity in the political system.”
Ong also addressed several other concerns raised by members of the panel, one concern being the effects of patronage on younger politicians.
“They might be pressured to use constitutional allocations from the state or federal government to give political contributions to party members through NGOs or associations they control.”
Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS), the principal body managing the movement of international schools in Malaysia, was also named by Ong as a potential source of patronage.
EMGS is a Company Limited by Guarantee (CLBG) completely owned by the Higher Education Ministry and is responsible for promoting Malaysia as the international education hub of choice.
He expressed hope for more substantive discussions on the matter, admitting that this was not discussed much within his own party because of “sensitivities leading up to the central executive committee election soon”.
Previously, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs chief executive Tricia Yeoh expressed her surprise and disappointment that the memorandum of understanding did not include the PFA nor the National Anti-Corruption Plan.
https://www.thevibes.com/articles/news/42577/Public-funding-of-parties-can-be-preface-to-political-financing-law-Ideas
Fellow panellist Prof Terence Gomez echoed Yeoh’s lamentation on the MoU being insufficient.
Gomez highlighted several key problems relating to government-linked companies and foundations being abused for political financial gain, adding that the lack of action will negatively impact free and fair elections.
He appealed to politicians to come clean with their sources of funding and aid in pushing through legislation for political financing.
“Otherwise, the country’s crisis today will persist. It is time we clean up the financing of our politics.” – The Vibes, September 25, 2021
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