In his reply to a supplementary question from Beaufort (Bersatu) MP Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun, the prime minister suggested that this could be because the panel had been reconstituted after Perikatan Nasional (PN) took over the government in March.

“The PSC has been tasked to prepare a policy report on political donations. However, up till July 16 the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC), as the coordinator on this bill, has not received any reports from PSC.

“I think it is because the PSC is newly formed (under the PN administration),” said Muhyiddin.

He admitted that a political funding law was necessary to oversee any contributions to political organisations.

* Editor’s note: A previous version of this report referred erroneously to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) instead of the parliamentary select committee (PSC). The error has been corrected.