Kuala Lumpur, 22 July 2021: Member of Parliament (MP) Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman today has claimed trial over the charge of misappropriating RM1 million belonging to his former party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM). Syed Saddiq’s charge follows the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn the RM2 million corruption conviction against former federal territories minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. The Court ruled that the RM2 million was a political donation to UMNO for two by-elections in 2016.  

IDEAS believes that both cases are not the only legal trials involving political fund misappropriation. Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Mohammad Najib Tun Abdul Razak has also been brought to trial due to a huge amount of donation from the Middle East which was wired to his personal account. The former Prime Minister alleged that the donation was given as a means to sustain Malaysia as a model of Islamic governance and peaceful multicultural nation. The saga of fund misappropriation trials indicate the legal lacunae to regulate political funding in Malaysia. 

“These two cases involving politicians from different parties are perfect examples of why our political financing system needs an immediate and urgent overhaul. Currently, political financing is not regulated and the campaign spending limits stated in the Election Offences Act are unrealistically low. As long as the system remains unregulated, more cases like Syed Saddiq’s and Tengku Adnan’s will come to light and there will continue to be a lack of clarity as to what constitutes political donations,” comments Tricia Yeoh, CEO of IDEAS. 

“We are aware that a Political Financing Bill has been drafted, and we call on the government to provide clarity over the status of the Bill. Despite being consulted on many different occasions, civil society remains in the dark about the contents of this draft. At IDEAS, we propose that any legislation that will be enacted must contain these following principles: an appropriate public funding mechanism for political parties, transparency in both donations and spending, prohibition of government-linked companies (GLCs) from making political donations and finally, transparency of large assets and businesses owned by political parties,” adds Yeoh.

“When there is no clarity and transparency in the system, political actors would act with discretion in accumulating and disbursing political funds. In the long term, there will be a trust deficit to our politicians and political system, as well as erosion to the law enforcement and justice system. No doubt, our democracy suffers in the long run. We urge the government to seriously consider restarting the conversation on the importance of transparency in political financing and IDEAS is willing to facilitate this process. 

We would like to stress that a Political Financing Act will benefit all political parties across the divide, as parties would be treated equally and fairly by an independent Comptroller, to whom financial disclosures will be made. Streamlining political financing laws in the country will lead to improved outcomes and reduce political corruption in the long run,” concludes Yeoh.

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Zokhri Idris, Ph.D, Director, External Relations
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