IPOH: Guidelines about receiving political funding needs to be drawn up to allow politicians to accept funds for political activities from individuals and parties which can be declared and approved.
Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan said the matter needed to be in place as soon as possible to ensure transparency in receiving funding for a specific reason.
“I speak from my experience as someone who has to provide a service to the public in my own area. Whether I like it or not, sometimes I have to ask for donations to ensure that I can give good service to the public.
“However, the issue is that there is no clear definition of the process of receiving funds and how to go about it.
“I contacted the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) a few days ago to ask on the proper way to declare political funding but they don’t actually have one. The process needs to be done as soon as possible so there is a clear guideline on how to ensure that we can declare our political fundings so that the public can see that we have nothing to hide,” he said.
Wan said as part of the new government, he has to often sit in meetings with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who often ask the new government not to repeat the mistakes of the previous government.
He was speaking to reporters after attending Perak’s Integrity Empowerment Seminar here today.
Wan Saiful, who is also chairman of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), said the time had come for all politicians to come clean and asked the government to have clear guidelines on how to declare political fundings.
Wan Saiful added that the matter needed to be looked at in detail to ensure that people who give donations can see the money trail and also politicians don’t have to worry that they may be breaking the law by accepting money.
