GEORGE TOWN, Aug 8 — Penang Barisan Nasional(BN) state assemblymen have no problems declaring their assets publicly but only if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak requires them to do so, state Umno deputy liaison chief Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said today.
The deputy health minister said it is common practice for all BN state assemblymen and MPs to declare their assets to the prime minister.
“If Najib wants us to publicly declare our assets, we will comply, it is not an issue at all,” Dr Hilmi (picture) told reporters at his home in Balik Pulau here during his Hari Raya open house.
Previously, when the Penang state administration was under BN, all state assemblymen declared their assets to the chief minister who then kept it in his safety box, he said.
“It is not like we have anything much to declare,” he added.
When told that the current Pakatan Rakyat (PR) chief minister Lim Guan Eng had offered the services of an independent accountancy firm to verify their declaration of assets if they chose to make it public, the Balik Pulau MP told Lim “not to worry” about them.
“He should take care of his own people, he doesn’t have to worry about us,” he said.
On another note, Hilmi said it is a good move to declare their assets that is why he would gladly comply if Najib asked them to publicly declare their assets.
Pulau Betong state assemblyman Muhammad Farid Saad agreed that the BN state assemblymen have no problems declaring their assets publicly if Najib told them to do it.
“We have no objections, if Najib says to declare publicly, we will follow,” he said.
Two days ago, all PR state assemblymen including the 11 state executive councillors publicly declared their assets and uploaded the information onto the state government’s website.
Lim had offered the services of the accountancy firm they had used to verify the declaration of assets to the BN state assemblymen at the state’s expense.
Muhammad Farid said if PR was serious about being transparent, all PR MPs in Penang should also publicly declare their assets, not only the state assemblymen.
On Lim’s offer to foot the auditing bills for BN representatives to verify their asset declaration, Muhammad Farid told Lim to use the money to pay for a good audit firm for the DAP’s central executive committee (CEC) elections.
