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Senator urges govt to find out local Usaid fund recipients
Dewan Negara senator Sivaraj Chandran today urged the government to find out which Malaysian organisations are recipients of United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) funds.
Sivaraj called on the government to speak to the US embassy on the matter, bringing up issues of transparency and the potential for foreign interference in domestic affairs.
Summary
Senator Sivaraj Chandran urges the government to find out which local organisations received Usaid funds.
He calls on the government to speak to the US embassy about this, bringing up issues of transparency and foreign interference.
Dewan Negara senator Sivaraj Chandran today urged the government to find out which Malaysian organisations are recipients of United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) funds.
Sivaraj called on the government to speak to the US embassy on the matter, bringing up issues of transparency and the potential for foreign interference in domestic affairs.
"Malaysia cannot be naive. History has shown that such funds are often used to weaken governments that are not aligned with the interests of foreign powers, manipulate voters, and destabilise the country.
"We have seen how other countries have fallen victim to this political game and I do not want Malaysia to suffer the same fate," the MIC man said in a statement.
A report from NBC News said a federal judge in the US ruled that the current president Donald Trump's administration has until Monday (March 10) to pay several groups affected by the order to freeze foreign aid.
According to US government data, USAid disbursed US$43.79 billion (RM194.54 billion) in foreign aid in 2023.
Blanket freeze
On Jan 20, Trump's executive order for a 90-day blanket freeze on foreign assistance took effect.
Several NGOs spoke toMalaysiakini on the issue, saying that their advocacy work had been affected by this due to the disruption to their sources of funding.
He also questioned what the funds had been used for and what manner of organisations or individuals had received them.
"Were these funds channeled to NGOs, political parties or specific individuals for certain purposes?" he asked.
The government must take firm action on this matter to ensure transparency to the people and to maintain the country's sovereignty, he added.
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