The government's proposal to keep office-bearers of political parties off tender boards is laudable, said corruption watchdog Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), but it is not enough.
“(It) would have been better if the prohibition covers all political appointees because all tenders and procurement must be free from political interference,” said TI-M chief Paul Low.
In an email response toMalaysiakini, Low said this is important as it plugs opportunities for politicians to gain access to funds, via the state.
He said that they can do this via “state capture”, that is by exerting influence over the “administrative decisions and processes” in exchange for kickbacks.
Low was commenting on an announcement by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) on new regulations proposed to combat corruption.
It also announced a proposal for all political funding to be channeled to party accounts, and not to individuals.
Low said that this too need to be stricter to also include “accountability on how these funds under the custodian of the political parties are utilised”.
“It is necessary to provide enforceable regulations to prohibit the use of the funding for purposes that can be considered as corrupt and unethical such as vote buying,” he said.
“Furthermore, regulations may be needed to prevent funding and spending through proxies which could circumvent the requirement.”
“(It) would have been better if the prohibition covers all political appointees because all tenders and procurement must be free from political interference,” said TI-M chief Paul Low.
In an email response toMalaysiakini, Low said this is important as it plugs opportunities for politicians to gain access to funds, via the state.He said that they can do this via “state capture”, that is by exerting influence over the “administrative decisions and processes” in exchange for kickbacks.
Low was commenting on an announcement by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) on new regulations proposed to combat corruption.
It also announced a proposal for all political funding to be channeled to party accounts, and not to individuals.
Low said that this too need to be stricter to also include “accountability on how these funds under the custodian of the political parties are utilised”.
“It is necessary to provide enforceable regulations to prohibit the use of the funding for purposes that can be considered as corrupt and unethical such as vote buying,” he said.
“Furthermore, regulations may be needed to prevent funding and spending through proxies which could circumvent the requirement.”
Two-tier approach
Pemandu had last week announced a double-tier approach, with the first tier consisting of a “checklist of recommended actions for political parties” to stop abuse of the funding process by party members.
Pemandu had last week announced a double-tier approach, with the first tier consisting of a “checklist of recommended actions for political parties” to stop abuse of the funding process by party members.
The second tier involves the facilitation of better detection, prevention and enforcement by identified agencies against grand corruption, including the barring of party members on tender boards.
“We will be introducing two tiers of control for all political parties to voluntarily adopt, beginning with BN component parties,” Pemandu head Idris Jala had said in the statement.
However, it is not immediately clear when the two tiers will be fully implemented, nor can the proposed checklist be made public, as Pemandu has said this is still in “planning stages”.
“We will be introducing two tiers of control for all political parties to voluntarily adopt, beginning with BN component parties,” Pemandu head Idris Jala had said in the statement.
However, it is not immediately clear when the two tiers will be fully implemented, nor can the proposed checklist be made public, as Pemandu has said this is still in “planning stages”.
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