PETALING JAYA: Instituting clear record-keeping practices is among the challenges behind getting all political parties to accept a new law regulating money in politics, say politicians and experts involved in the Bill.
Although such steps are important, not all political parties are confident of putting them into practice, they said.
Another big concern is how transparent parties will have to be with the identity of donors and supporters, said officials who have worked on the Bill.
Despite these concerns, experts said it is critical that Malaysia enacts such a law before the next general election in order to prevent scandals such as 1Malaysia Development Bhd from recurring.
Sri Murniati Yusuf of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) said the law will prevent political donations from turning into corruption.
“Good regulations can help ensure parties stay disciplined and transparent, so the system works fairly and earns public trust,” said Sri Murniati, IDEAS’ senior research director.
“Right now, there are some reporting practices for campaign and party finances, but they lack consistency, discipline and full transparency.”
Another challenge is the limit on donations, as some political parties worry that this restriction will make it harder for them to secure enough resources and discourage potential donors, she said.
“But these concerns may be overstated. Setting clear rules on political funding will ensure that more money will come from legitimate sources, instead of from those with vested interests.
“Greater transparency could encourage businesses and individuals to contribute and political parties may be more encouraged to be accountable and less prone to corruption,” she said.
Work on the Bill has reached an impasse with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said saying on Feb 24 that a unanimous agreement with stakeholders could not be reached on several key issues.
They include public funding for political parties, limits on donations and the regulating body for political financing, said Azalina, who is in charge of law and institutional reforms.
Eight engagement sessions with political parties, government agencies and the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on Human Rights, Election and Institutional Reforms have been held to discuss the Bill.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said objections to regulating political financing have existed even during the former Barisan Nasional administration prior to 2018.
“We faced significant opposition – not from within Umno itself, but from other political parties. It is clear that a strong political will across the partisan divide is essential for this progressive law,” he said.
The law had been proposed by a former Barisan Nasional administration as there were concerns that donors could wield influence in policy-making and undermine the integrity of the government, he added.
“The real challenge lies in whether voters are sufficiently aware of this inherent risk, to the point where they would reject candidates backed by donors with specific agendas,” Asyraf said.
William Leong, who chairs the PSSC that reviews the proposed Bill, said there are complexities that need to be ironed out.
Leong, who is Selayang MP, said many models such as from Canada and Australia have been looked at but Malaysia requires a law that is tailored to its own needs.
“It cannot be a cut-and-paste Act. We have to look into our own circumstances and problems with political financing and money politics,” he said.
As contemporary politics is an expensive affair, political scientist Prof Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University said it will be impossible to ask political parties not to take funds from private sources if there is no public funding for them.
“Candidates need money for advertisements, campaign workers which run into hundreds and thousands, renting event venues, transportation and communication.
“Without public finance, either candidates turn to private funders who likely expect kickbacks or who can influence policy-making, or only rich people can afford to run.
“Refusing to fund political parties or candidates is really ‘penny wise, pound foolish’,” said Wong.
