C4 calls for political financing laws after UKSB kickbacks unveiled
The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) has called for laws on political financing and the regulations of political donations.
In a statement today, the anti-corruption group stressed that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s graft trial highlighted that unregulated political donations were key enablers of political corruption.
The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) has called for laws on political financing and the regulations of political donations.
In a statement today, the anti-corruption group stressed that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s graft trial highlighted that unregulated political donations were key enablers of political corruption.
“Under the current legal framework, there are no limits on the amount of political donation permitted.
“There is also no requirement for political parties to disclose the identities of their donors.
“This prevents any sort of public oversight or scrutiny on how political donations affect our political system until after a politician is charged with receiving bribes, as proven by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s present case.
“How many other suspicious ‘political donations’ to politicians are the public not privy to?” it said.
Witness testimony in Zahid’s graft trial implicated several prominent figures of which the secret ledger of Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) contained names and details of alleged payments of kickbacks made by the company to several individuals between 2014 and 2018.
Among others, the names of Perikatan Nasional chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin and Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin were disclosed in court.
C4 said that a lack of regulation on political donations created a grey area where the line between a political donation and a bribe can be blurred.
It questioned where the line should be drawn for political donations.
“While they may be a legitimate source of political financing, without proper regulations and oversight, they not only open the door to the possibility of massive corruption between powerful politicians and companies seeking influence, but they also destroy public trust in the political system.
“The sheer number of politicians facing court cases involving political donations demonstrate that this is not an isolated practice,” it said.
Hence, the C4 called for the following measures to be taken:
Political financing law to be tabled in Parliament as soon as possible
Asset declaration laws to be tabled to prevent the flow of secret and illicit wealth
All politicians named in Zahid’s trial to explain their receipt of funds from UKSB and how the money was used.
MACC to explain why investigations were not launched despite knowledge of the contents of the ledger.
The Public Accounts Committee to investigate the MACC for not launching investigations sooner.
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