Pakatan Rakyat leaders are willing to declare their assets, but stress that this will not sway attention from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's wealth.

 

This comes after Cheras Umno chief Syed Ali Alhabshee challenged Pakatan elected representatives to empty their pockets to prove they are clean instead of training their guns at Najib.

 

"Personally, I have no problem with it and in general, no one in Pakatan has a problem with it. We have to take it up (at the leadership meeting) to get a consensus.

 

"But it's a cheap shot to divert attention from Najib and 1Malaysia Development Bhd...," PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli ( right ) said.

 

Even so, he said, he will raise the matter at both the PKR supreme council meeting and Pakatan leadership council.

 

"Previously, there were a few concerns like privacy, etcetera, but I personally don't think it (privacy) is a big issue. We’ll have to bring it up and see," he said when contacted.

 

All MPs should do it

 

Similarly, PAS information chief Mahfuz Omar told Malaysiakini that he was willing to declare his assets.

 

Moreover, he wants Parliament to institute a requirement for all parliamentarians to declare their assets.

 

"I am ready, and I don't think it should be limited to just Pakatan  MPs," he said.

 

Najib's wealth is in question after the Prime Minister's Office told the New York Times his and his family's lavish lifestyle can be attributed to his "position" and "legacy of family assets".

 

However, on Feb 24 his four younger brothers issued a rare statement saying talk of inheritance has smeared their father, second Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein's name.

 

Members of the DAP-led Penang executive council publicly declared their assets in 2013 ( topmost photo ), while members of the PKR-led Selangor executive council declare their assets to the menteri besar.

 

Members of the cabinet also declare their assets to the prime minister.

 

PSM is the only political party in which its office bearers make their asset declarations public.