Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) is facing serious stumbling blocks in obtaining information for its ground-breaking study on political financing in the country.

“The politicians are not ready to reveal such information because there is no legislation that compels them to do so,” lamented Loi Kheng Min, the secretary-general of the anti-corruption watchdog.

“Disgruntled party members tend to reveal more than party loyalists,” according to a researcher in the one-year project.

Political parties also expressed reservations to divulge information for fear that it could be used by their opponents.

The political financing project involved four TI-M’s full-time staff and about 30 volunteers over a period of one year.

The research includes extensive interviews with members of parliament, government agencies, private companies and academic experts.

The study, known as the Crinis project, was part of an effort initiated by Transparency International’s partners in Latin America. ‘Crinis’ means ‘ray of light’ in Latin.

“The Crinis project is based on the acceptance of money as a necessary element for democracies and parties to run smoothly as long as financing is transparent, properly accounted with full public disclosure and subjected to effective governmental and social oversight mechanisms,” said Transparency International.

TI-M past president Ramon Navaratnam was a key person in seeing the project through in Malaysia, which was launched in December last year.

Umno leader's slush funds

“The research is important and timely as the core issue discussed at Umno’s recent AGM was on the monetisation of money politics,” said Universiti Malaya’s Edmund Terence Gomez, an advisor for the project.

“Even in MCA, there are allegations of money channelled from the PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) project to the party president, which the president has denied. In the MIC, there are allegations of funds misused.”

Gomez added that during Malaysia’s first premier Tunku Abdul Rahman’s era, there were secret funds which was accessible only to the party president.

He also said that there were more allegations surfacing linking political parties with international funding and organised crime. This, argued Gomez, must be discussed, legislated and controlled immediately.

“It is causing factionalism. It is most clear in Umno, where the individual who has the most would win,” he said on the impact of money politics.

Gomez also added that it was pertinent to reform the election system in political parties, state as well as general elections to ensure stability of the country.

TI-M will reveal the final findings of the research at the Crinis Conference on Nov 30.