Govt regulators can order firms to disclose political donations, says lawyer

 

Malaysian Bar’s constitutional law committee co-chair Andrew Khoo said the Companies Commission of Malaysia can come up with its own regulations requiring firms to disclose political donations. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Regulatory bodies like the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) should come up with their own regulations requiring firms and foundations to disclose donations made to political parties, a lawyer has suggested.

Malaysian Bar’s constitutional law committee co-chair Andrew Khoo said in the absence of a Political Financing Act (PFA), the SSM, Registrar of Societies (RoS) and Cooperative Societies Commission of Malaysia should come up with their own regulations for the time being.

He added that these regulations would not be impacted by any change in the prime minister since the directive would not come from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“It can be a regulation that is enforceable under the Companies Act, based on the directive issued by SSM.

“Then it becomes immediately enforceable as compliance is compulsory,” he said during a webinar hosted by Transparency International Malaysia.

Andrew Khoo.

He said all the relevant acts gave these bodies the authority to enact such regulations on their own, pointing out that the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) was already implementing environment, social and governance (ESG) disclosures.

When asked whether bail paid to politicians facing court charges can be considered a donation, Khoo said the bail was technically a loan, which meant that politicians should be able to refund the donors appropriately.

He cited how donations received by US’s presidential candidate Bernie Sanders were kept to small amounts so that they did not need to be declared and donors could give their money anonymously.

Khoo said in the United Kingdom, public listed companies were required by law to disclose the amount of donations given to political parties. These could be scrutinised in the annual reports of these companies.

He also warned members of the government who used state amenities and facilities for political purposes that this was tantamount to abuse of power, maintaining that they should reimburse Putrajaya in such instances.

Tricia Yeoh.

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) CEO Tricia Yeoh agreed with her fellow panellist, saying the government should be compensated for these expenses for sake of transparency.

“That’s why civil societies constantly stress that government-linked company (GLC) positions be given to non-partisan figures. Once they’re on the board of a GLC, they can push for contributions to be made, both in cash and in kind, to political parties.”

In her presentation, Yeoh pushed for public funding for political parties in order to reduce the reliance on private sources of funds, such as wealthy individuals and corporate interest groups.

She said public funding would actually lead to a more stable political environment as it would decrease polarisation, while an independent oversight body was needed to “set the rules and execute the law”.

Yeoh expressed disappointment in how a PFA was not included in the memorandum of understanding signed by Pakatan Harapan and Putrajaya, warning that the lack of regulations on political financing would breed corruption and erode the public’s trust in parties and politicians. - FMT