Political Reform Memorandum - TI-Malaysia

TI-Malaysia submits memo to PM on reforms in political financing
Written by Joseph Chin of theedgemalaysia.com
Thursday, 05 May 2011 17:35

KUALA LUMPUR: Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has submitted its 22-point memorandum on reforms of political financing in Malaysia to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

TI-M proposed 22 reforms to improve transparency, integrity and accountability in political financing and they focused on three key areas: Institutional reforms, Legislative reforms and Media reforms.

It said the memorandum was submitted on Thursday, May 5, based on its research on the state of political financing in Malaysia from 2009 to 2010.

The research included interviews with past and present politicians including such Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, surveys with the Election Commission (EC), Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), politicians, academicians, political analysts, companies, civil society, journalists and the general public.

TI-M said conferences, workshops and state level consultations on reforms in political financing in Malaysia were held.

Below is the list of recommendations made by TI-M which it hoped would be implemented before the 13th General Election:

a) State Funding
State funding is crucial for improving transparency, accountability and fairness in political financing, and to ensure that political parties and candidates have sufficient resources to run viable campaigns. It is recommended that the Federal Government provide funding for Parliamentary elections and the State governments for state level elections. A formula could be worked out based on the following factors –urban, rural and number of voters.

b) Regulation of Reporting of Political Financing
(i) The Election Offences Act 1954 should be amended to require party election expenses to be independently audited by certified auditors before submission to the EC.
(ii) The Elections Act 1958 should be amended to empower the EC to carry out investigations and verify financial reports of candidates.

c) Full disclosure of Political Party and Candidate Financing
Political parties should be required by law to make full public disclosure of the amounts and sources of their financing and expenditure. There must be public disclosure and access to political party accounts

d) Regulating Political Donations
(i) There must be limits on contributions by Malaysian individuals and organisations or companies to political parties. Ideally, companies should be prohibited from making political donations. This is the best means to curb the capacity of those with private agenda to influence election outcomes.
(ii) A list of non-permitted donors should be prepared. These should include government-linked corporations, non-citizens and foreign organisations.

(e) Equal and Fair Coverage by and Access to Public Media
Provide fair and equal coverage for all campaigning political parties during election campaign periods. Political parties and candidates should have access to all public (taxpayer supported) media, including TV, radio, national news agency and websites