Harapan Coin goes against principles of good governance, says Cenbet

PETALING JAYA: Think tank Centre For A Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) has raised red flags over the Harapan Coin project, saying that it goes against the principles of good governance.

Its vice-president Datuk Simon Lim Seng Chai urged Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad, who is also Parti Amanah Negara communications director, to shelve the project.

"A political party in the ruling coalition proposing its own digital currency to the regulators raises many red flags, especially since Khalid had said that the crypto could be used for official transactions such as paying fines.

"Worse still, Khalid had admitted that 30% of the funds raised is channelled to the system administrator," he said in a statement on Thursday (Nov 15).

Lim said using the Harapan Coin as a fund-raising tool for the ruling coalition also raised concerns about foreign political meddling as owners of accounts can remain anonymous.

"This allows foreign parties to influence our political processes.

"This is unlike conventional political donations where the paper trail is easier to trace and action like blacklisting shell companies can be done," he added.

According to Lim, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had announced that crypto currencies are not a legal tender in the country.

He questioned whether buyers would get recourse if something goes wrong.

"Isn’t a political party having its own currency similar with the organisation going for listing?” he said.

Harapan Coin is expected to be the world’s first political fundraising platform that uses crypto currency and blockchain technologies.

Khalid, who is a co-founder of the project, reportedly said the paperwork and presentation of the project will be given to BNM and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad soon.

He had said although the decision and approval from BNM and the Pakatan Harapan presidential council may take a while, he is, however, determined to continue proposing the project.