Include public funding component in Political Financing Act, urges Bersih

The Political Financing Act recently greenlit by the cabinet should include a component for public funding of political parties, urged Bersih.

The electoral reform group said this would ensure the act would not only regulate how parties get their funding but also provide public funding based on their vote share in the last election.

“It can also provide a special fund for political parties to increase women representatives in the Dewan Rakyat.

"With this component, we want to minimise the parties' dependency on large corporate donors who may try to influence government policies or have unfair access to government contracts," the group’s steering committee said in a statement today.

Bersih was commenting on the announcement by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said that the cabinet has agreed to the enactment of the Political Financing Act.

According to Azalina, the cabinet has referred seven policy parameters to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) in Human Rights, Election, and Institutional Reform for their consideration.

Bersih welcomed this but hoped the select committee would engage with all stakeholders before the bill is tabled in the Parliament.

This includes engaging with civil society organisations that have been actively campaigning and proposing details for a robust Political Financing Act, Bersih added.

"The Political Financing Act has been discussed before and delayed for too long, it is high time now to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.

"Now is the time for our nation to move one step forward to reform our political system," it said.

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