Lawmakers, who hail from a poor background, are more prone to corruption after being elected to office, according to Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj.

The Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) leader also noted how the significant hike in wages and allowances for members of parliament was a contributing factor as well.

"Especially if you're poor and you become an MP, with all the perks and benefits that you get, you can become corrupted.

"If you're well off and already had that lifestyle before you became an MP, it's not such a big difference.

"But if you're a farmer earning RM2,000 or RM3,000 and suddenly you get RM25,000, you must be very strong in your (beliefs) if you want to remain true to your roots," he said.

Jeyakumar, who defeated former MIC president S Samy Vellu in the 2008 general election and retained his seat in 2013, was speaking at a press conference at the PSM headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this morning, which was called for his annual asset declaration.

The PSM leader pointed out that his monthly income as an MP this year was RM25,500, including allowances, which was a marked increase from the RM12,950 he received last year.

The retired government medical doctor also receives a monthly pension of RM2,441.

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Jeyakumar said while his current income status would put him in the top five percent of Malaysians, he was still one of the poorest lawmakers.

MP salary and allowances increased by about three-fold after amendments to the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) (Amendment) Act were passed last year.

Meanwhile, Jeyakumar revealed he has a total of RM429,266 in cash, property and savings to his name this year. The breakdown is as below:

1. A house in Ipoh - RM150,000 (up from RM140,000 last year);
2. A 1998 Volvo car - RM10,000;
3. A Perodua Kancil car - RM3,000;
4. A 1993 Pajero car - RM6,000;
5. A 2000 Nissan Sentra car - RM14,000;
6. Bank savings of RM35,000 (up from RM25,000 last year);
7. Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) savings of RM130,000 (first time declaring);
8. Shares of RM41,352 (up from RM38,233 last year); and
9. Cash bonus value of insurance policies worth RM39,914 (down from RM42,238 last year)

The declaration was endorsed by a commissioner of oaths.

Asked why he had not declared his EPF previously, Jeyakumar said he simply did not think of it.

"The money is not actually with me, you see. The EPF contribution was made during the first 10 years I served as a doctor in the government service.

"After that, my salary was cut for pension funds," he explained.

PSM secretary-general A Sivarajan told the same press conference that the party has a tradition of mandating that its representatives in public office declare their wealth.

"Any representatives chosen by the people have to be transparent and clean. Each of our representatives will declare their assets. This is our commitment to the people.

"We find it very important to create this culture of politics," he said.

Jeyakumar, on the other hand, said PSM did not follow the political styles of BN, where (it behaved) like "Santa Claus" giving out gifts or that of other opposition parties which tend to focus on "big news" like 1MDB and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"We don't use the methods of BN, PAS or DAP. We use our own methods.

"Go out to the ground, try to look at the issues (affecting the people) and involve the people who are affected.

"You must talk to the people about their issues. Why are farmers still poor? Why are fishermen still poor?" he added.