We refer to the Malaysiakini reports Selangor cabinet’s asset declaration ‘laughable’ and How BN declares assets of its elected reps .

We thank you for your interest in the issue. However, we would like to clarify that the move is not a ‘political gimmick’ as alleged in the articles.

The purpose of the assets declaration is to ensure that members of the Selangor exco are not motivated by personal interests in the conduct of their duties.

As such, the state government has instructed them to make full disclosure of their assets since taking office on March 24, 2009.

The objective is to ensure that they do not take advantage of their position to unlawfully or unethically acquire assets - financial or otherwise.

Furthermore, the declarations would ensure that the exco members make unbiased and impartial decisions in policy-making.

Since there is no guarantee that the information provided will not be abused, the state has decided that information beyond that reflecting the assets will be disclosed privately to the Menteri Besar’s Office.

This information can be released for legitimate reasons – subject to the conditions and approval of the Special Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) and the menteri besar.

Selcat will be making a public announcement on these conditions at the appropriate time.

We feel that this two-tier system of assets declaration allows for the accountability and transparency of the state government to ensure that the rakyat 's interests are served. It also protects the security of the exco members and their families.

We will, of course, continue to make relevant changes to improve the procedure and how it is presented to the public.

The writer is press secretary to the menteri besar of Selangor.