Low: Council on political funding can be set up within next two weeks

KUALA LUMPUR: The earliest the national council on political funding can be formed is within the next two weeks, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low(pic) said.

He said letters inviting people to join the council would be sent out by the end of the week.

“It (the formation of this council) should be within two weeks, but it also depends on how fast they respond to the invitation,” he said at the Royale Chulan Hotel here.

He was referring to an idea mooted by the Prime Minister last week, where Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Government would look into political funding and regulating it.

Low said invitation letters would be sent to politicians from both the Barisan Nasional and Opposition parties, as well as civil society and groups such as the Bar Council.

He added that the Bar Council would be invited to sit on the panel, and that it was up to it to refuse the invite.

Previously, the Bar Council said it would not join the national council and felt that the RM2.6bil found in Najib’s private bank accounts needed to be investigated first.

When asked if the Election Commission (EC) would sit on the panel, Low said no, adding that it would instead be part of an “expert committee” to work out finer details.

“Former EC members would be a part of the panel,” he said.

When asked if voter reform group Bersih would be invited, Low said people from the watchdog body may be asked to join in an individual capacity, though not the group itself.

Low said the council may have 15 to 20 people in it.

He said interest groups may also be formed to make sure that the panel would enjoy “maximum consultation”.

These groups, he said, may be represented by political campaigners, Members of Parliament, future candidates, civil society groups and even overseas Malaysians studying political science.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming, who was also present, told reporters that DAP would be invited to join the panel.

He said the council should also look into equality of political spending, adding that Najib had previously announced that Barisan MPs would get extra allocation of RM5mil each, up from RM1mil.