Assets declaration is 1 of the reforms that is promised in Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto
Pic By TMR
LAWMAKERS who have not declared their assets are given three months to do so, or they would be hauled to the Parliament’s Select Committee on Rights and Privileges.
The creed is based on the asset declaration motion that was passed in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
The motion for all MPs to declare their wealth and that of their spouses, adult children and trustees to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was passed with a simple majority, the same day the de facto law minister tabled it for its first reading.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s (PM) Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said for the MPs who have not declared their assets, a statutory declaration shall be submitted to the speaker within three months from July 1, 2019, and copied to the chief commissioner of the MACC.
“Lawmakers who fail to do so will be referred to the select committee and are required to state their reasons for not declaring,” he said in his winding-up speech, adding that further punishment will also be imposed.
The punishment would only be decided by the speaker and would be left to his discretion. Liew said such anti-corruption initiatives are not just limited to preventive and punitive actions, but from the perspective of the public too. He said the efforts must not only be done, but be seen. Assets declaration was one of the reforms that was promised in Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto.
It requires public officials to declare their monthly income and assets, but does not contain details about their assets, income sources and liabilities. The government first attempted to get MPs to voluntarily declare their assets to the commission before Nov 1 last year.
It was later followed by a proposal to get all MPs, including those from the Opposition, to declare their assets to the MACC, that was mooted at the Special Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption meeting chaired by PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in May this year.
According to the World Bank, more than 150 countries have introduced asset disclosure requirements for their public officials.
Currently, there is no law in Malaysia to compel lawmakers to declare their assets.
Prior to this, chief secretaries and heads of departments are required to declare their assets to the Public Service Department, while Cabinet members would have to declare theirs to the PM.
According to Liew, the new mechanism to declare the assets would still be via the MACC asset declaration portal, which is available to the public.
A check on the MACC asset declaration portal yesterday showed that 15 of the government’s 139 MPs have yet to submit their details to the anti-graft agency.
According to the MACC, 89.2% of Pakatan Harapan MPs have declared their assets.
As seen on the website, the PM’s income is RM75,861.57 and total assets, RM32,357,900. The monthly salary of a PM is RM20,544 and an MP, RM16,000.
The monthly salary of a minister is RM13,416.
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