KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — Pakatan Harapan federal lawmakers’ spending has to be monitored now that they have declared their assets, National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) chairman head Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed has said.
Abu Kassim, who is a former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief, said any major purchases by these MPs would have to be inspected to prevent corruption.
“We must ensure they spend according to their means.
“Any extravagant spending or major acquisitions must be checked to ensure there is no element of graft,” he was quoted as saying by local daily The Star after the Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award ceremony yesterday.
The MACC recently set up an assets declaration portal to publish the monthly income and value of assets owned by the ruling Pakatan Harapan lawmakers and ministers and deputy ministers, although not all were stated as having complied and with the asset values missing for some.
Prior to the current administration, such details were not made public.
At the time of writing, the MACC’s assets declaration portal said 115 government federal lawmakers had declared their assets while 13 had not, and that 63 members of administration had declared their assets while 24 have yet to do so.
Abu Kassim also said he believed Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was “very committed” in fighting corruption, adding: “Within months of taking office, he approved 21 policies and endorsed a plan for anti-corruption with 103 initiatives.”
