New format on asset declaration for MPs, govt officials finalised, says Kulasegaran

KUALA LUMPUR: The new format on asset declaration for Members of Parliament and administrative members has been finalised and will soon be tabled to the Cabinet for further consideration.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M.Kulasegaran (pic) said the proposal for the new format was tabled and agreed upon by the Special Cabinet Committee on National Governance (JKKTN) chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Jan 8.

He said the new format was an improvement over the previous asset declaration system introduced in 2018.

"In comparison to 2018, where we only disclosed the properties we owned and their respective values, the new format is more precise and transparent.

"Now, every asset must be declared comprehensively, including its original price and date of acquisition.

"In addition, we also need to determine the current value of the asset and compare it with the original price," he said in response to a supplementary question from Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar) at a special chambers session at the Dewan Rakyat here on Wednesday (March 6).

On the proposed separation of the powers of the Attorney-General and public prosecutors, Kulasegaran said the government had initiated an evidence-based study involving three countries - Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, to gather best practices on the matter.

He said the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said had recently conducted initial discussions with the Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, as well as the United Kingdom’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice.

"The meeting held during Datuk Seri Azalina's participation in the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting (CLMM 2024) in Zanzibar, Tanzania, yesterday (March 5) marked the beginning of the empirical study regarding the proposed separation of powers, endorsed by the Unity government," he stated.

In addition, Kulasegaran said the government was currently undertaking a thorough study on the proposal to establish a maximum term limit of two terms for the prime minister position.

"This involves engaging in discussions with stakeholders and conducting a comparative analysis of the tenure of ministers, prime ministers and presidents in foreign countries with different types of government systems, including benevolent monarchy, constitutional monarchy and republics," he said. - Bernama