DAP has denied it is against the political funding reforms proposed by the National Consultative Committee on Political Financing (NCCPF), led by federal minister Paul Low.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the party did not oppose the proposed reforms.

But it found difficult to support what it sees as a political gimmick, which did not contribute to greater transparency on the income and expenditure of political parties, to check money politics.

“Any proposed political funding reform must ensure that vested interests, the rich, or criminal elements, cannot impact negatively on the health of democracy and the political process by using money to buy influence,” Lim said in a statement.

“The proposed reforms, instead of preventing money politics, appears to legitimatise and institutionalise the culture of money politics by BN,” claimed the Penang chief minister.

“What is most shocking is the removal of the limits on election campaign expenditures,” he added.

Lim was referring to the current limits on campaign spending by candidates of RM200,000 for federal elections and RM100,000 for state elections.

He said this has been observed more by its breach than its compliance as that limit has been abused by BN candidates “10 times over with impunity”.

This is because BN has abused its powers in not punishing the culprits, Lim said.

“By allowing unlimited campaign spending where the sky is the limit, money politics and not people’s power will rule, making a complete mockery of democratic elections. There will no longer be free and fair elections, but only bought elections,” he added.

Lim said the failure to ensure full public declarations of assets by candidates who would be leaders of the administration, from the prime minister, ministers, chief ministers and excos, was “disappointing”.

Worse was the failure to divorce politics from business by not banning political parties from engaging in commercial enterprises, he added.

“BN component parties are actively engaged in business amounting to billions of ringgit, which serves their political interests instead of the public's benefit,” Lim alleged.

'Weapon against opposition'

Meanwhile, DAP expressed concern if the Office of the Controller (of political donations and expenditure), is established, with powers to confiscate donations if they are suspected to be from ‘dubious’ sources, would be used as a weapon against the opposition parties, and cripple them financially.

Lim then condemned Low for allegedly endorsing an individual politician to open his own bank account to collect political party donations.

“No democratic country in the world would sanction a personal bank account be opened to collect political donations,” said Lim, who is also the MP for Bagan.

He reiterated DAP did not oppose the principle of proposed political funding reforms, but could not fully support this proposal.

“This is because it legitimatises money politics as well as whitewashes the RM53 billion 1MDB scandal, and the RM4.2 billion donation scandal by absolving BN from all responsibility.

“Political funding reforms should be more extensive and comprehensive to defeat, and not institutionalise, the culture of money politics in Malaysia,” he explained.