The prime minister, cabinet members and heads of key institutions must declare their assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to ensure transparency and accountability at the top, Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) said.

The MACC chief should in turn declare his or her assets to Parliament, TI-M president Akhbar Satar said in a statement.

Akhbar said this should be as the first step before, eventually, all these people publicly declaring assets online.

"There is no danger, since every year the list of the top 10 richest persons in Malaysia (and their net worth) is published in the media," he said in a statement.

Calls for asset declaration by members of key institutions in Malaysia have been made repeatedly.

Members of the administration, however, said this was risky because it could put family members at risk of kidnapping for ransom.

At present, members of cabinet declare their assets to the prime minister, while the heads of departments and ministries declare theirs to the chief secretary to the government.

Akhbar said assets should be declared by all members of the executive, attorney-general, inspector-general of police, the chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces and the top management in the civil service.

The declaration should be done before and after taking office, with a net worth analysis conducted periodically.

Include assets of spouses, dependents

The process should include the assets of spouses, dependents and other immediate family members, as well as commercial interests or institutions the individual is a part of.

Akhbar said a special division consisting of forensic accounting experts and investigators should be set up to do this.

"They will investigate and prosecute those who fail to comply," he said.

Such practices can also prevent false allegations and boost public trust, Akhbar said.

The idea is also not novel in the region, he said, citing how the Philippines mandated disclosure of assets by public officials and members of Congress, and that of their spouses and unmarried children.

In fact, he said, the disclosures are compiled by The Philippines Center for Investigative Journalism in a public online database.

"We must emulate and lead by good examples set by some of our pioneering politicians, irrespective of their political affiliation, in going all out to fight corruption, both in word and deed," Akhbar added.