Yesterday, the BN Strategic Communication Director, Abdul Rahman Dahlan put the entire blame on DAP as the main stumbling block for political funding reforms in Malaysia. And today, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed that his efforts to legislate transparency in political funding in 2009 were “shot down by DAP”!
This is probably the first time that an UMNO Prime Minister “admitted” that DAP is so powerful in Parliament that we can “shoot down” any efforts by the BN government to legislate new laws in the country! I am the current DAP Parliamentary Whip but I never realized that we are so powerful that we can block legislative efforts by UMNO!
DAP had opposed many repressive laws in the past such as the Sedition Act and POTA, but did Najib ever taken our opposition into consideration and repeal those laws?
The statements by both Najib and Rahman Dahlan were clearly aimed to divert attentions from the 1MDB scandal and in particular to try to justify the serious allegation of RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib’s personal account. If the RM2.6 billion was meant for election funding for UMNO during GE13, why Najib is so reluctant to give a straight answer of “Yes” or “No”?
Let me put the record straight. The DAP had never opposed any efforts to reform political funding in Malaysia as we never had millions, let alone billions of Ringgit in donations for our election campaigns. While I did state the reality on the ground that many of our supporters who donated to our cause chose to remain anonymous as they feared of any witch hunts by the BN government post elections especially small traders and businessmen in small towns throughout the country, the DAP had never taken a position to oppose the reform and encourage more transparency in political funding.
This is the gist of what I said in a Bar Council forum in 2001 mentioned by Abdul Rahman Dahlan;
“Anthony Loke Siew Fook discussed that Parliamentarians received RM13,108.50 per month, including all allowances. He revealed that Parliamentarians who were elected beyond two terms, on the other hand, would receive a pension worth half that amount for the rest of their lives. He also shared his and his party’s experience in raising funds through fundraising dinners and public rallies. He admitted that there was a lack of disclosure regarding their funders – mainly individuals and small businesses – as the funders were afraid of repercussions if they were revealed to be supporters, on record, of his party.”
In fact, in the final report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform in 2012, which I was a member, we recommended the following points on political funding:
21. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO POLITICAL PARTIES
21.1. The Committee takes note of the proposal to the Government to allocate funds for political parties according to the number of seats won in the election, in the effort to revitalize democracy in the country and to tackle corruption by politicians during election.
21.2. The Committee also takes note that an implementation mechanism needs to be studied thoroughly since it involves financial implications to the Government as well as amendments to the law. This proposal should be given due consideration to be implemented in the long run.
21.3. The Committee takes note of the recommendation for each political party to declare any contributions received from any source during the election campaign.
21.4. The Committee recommends that the Government allocate funds and formulates an appropriate formula for the political parties and candidates that win in the elections, according to the total number of seats won and number of votes obtained, based on a 50 percent distribution for the seats won and another 50 percent for votes obtained, subject to the amendment of the relevant laws as well as the procedure to be determined.
Najib has completely ignored all the recommendations by the PSC on Electoral Reform after GE13 and forgotten his promises for a fairer and cleaner electoral system in Malaysia.
Najib has no moral authority to talk about political funding reforms when he can’t even answer the question of whether the RM2.6 billion was deposited into his personal account!