KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 ― Regulations should be put in place to make it compulsory for politicians and senior civil service officers to declare their assets in the interest of transparency, a pressure group comprising retired Malay civil servants said today.

The group dubbed G25 also called for reforms in the issue of political financing, saying that while it should be legalised, this should adhere to international standards and principles set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“Application of regulations to require declaration of assets by politicians and senior civil service officers; the declaration is made to an independent audit firm, which is able to take measures to verify, including checking against bank accounts,” the group said in a statement here.

This was among several recommendations listed by G25 for Putrajaya to implement in order to restore public trust to the federal government as well as key public institutions.

“Reforms in legalising political contributions with pre-requisite rules of transparency benchmarked against principles and standards set by the OECD,” the group added.

On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the formation of a bi-partisan panel to gather input for a law to regulate political funding, saying this was necessary to ensure the country practiced “healthy” politics.

Najib denied the idea was a result of the furore over the RM2.6 billion donation deposited into his personal accounts, and said the panel, called the National Consultative Committee on Political Fundings, was a follow-up to his pledge to regulate political funding in 2009.

Critics have however said that Putrajaya’s formation of a bi-partisan panel to regulate political funding is premature given that investigations into the RM2.6 billion donation deposited into the prime minister’s accounts are continuing.