KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 ― Barisan Nasional (BN) has always agreed to regulate political funding but the law never went through because of resistance from the Opposition, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor claimed today.
The BN Secretary General claimed the ruling coalition had mooted the idea even before the last general elections but faced fierce protest from the Opposition.
“On political funding, before the 13th general election, BN already agreed for all political parties to make declaration on their source.
“The ones who didn’t agree was the Opposition. This is the problem with the Opposition. They didn’t agree, so we also didn’t do it.
“We are ever ready to make our declaration any time,” Tengku Adnan told reporters after an event today.
In September, academic Prof Dr Terence Gomez revealed that the federal opposition rejected a proposal for political funding reforms suggested by Transparency International Malaysia after the 2008 polls.
Speaking during the Malaysian Bar’s International Law Conference, Terence, who is with the Faculty of Economics and Administration at Universiti Malaya, said that he was surprised by the opposition’s rejection during a roundtable held at Parliament.
Terence, who were part of the drafters, said that the opposition members he spoke to were afraid to disclose the source of their funding after 2008, some citing fear of reprisals against donors.
Terence revealed that the only Cabinet member who listened to their proposal was Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz, then a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, but he later rejected the idea as well.
Yesterday, a special panel on political funding proposed a new law on the matter to curb abuses, but suggested that this may not be in place before the general election after the next.
Among the proposals listed in the Political Donations and Expenditure Act is the formation of an independent oversight body with the power, to among others, confiscate money from unknown sources.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak then said in principle BN and Umno had always wanted a more “transparent” system but more importantly, it has to be agreed by the Opposition as well.
