C4: Legislate asset declaration to be consistent, compelling

Asset declaration for lawmakers should be made into a law to ensure it is a consistent and compelling policy, the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) said today.

While it commended the government's announcement that it will make it compulsory for elected representatives from the ruling coalition to declare their assets, C4 said such a move needed to be legislated as well.

"That law is very important because when the prime minister changes and there is no law to actually compel them to declare their assets, then the next prime minister can change it back and say there is no need to declare assets.

"So that is why you need a law, you need it to be consistent and compelling," executive director Cynthia Gabriel said at a press conference at the centre's office in Petaling Jaya.

What also needs to be implemented with regard to asset declaration, Gabriel said, is that it must be open to public scrutiny, as the people are the best watchdog for transparency and integrity.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced on Monday that the government is going to implement several new anti-corruption measures, such as mandating asset declarations for all Harapan lawmakers and reporting gifts to the MACC.

C4 understands privacy is a concern

However, Mahathir later stated that he was considering how much of the asset declaration would be made public as it may compromise the privacy of the lawmakers' family members.

Though privacy is a concern, Gabriel stressed that it is important that immediate family members be part of the asset declaration for there have been examples of "bank accounts opened in the name of wives and children".

"We have a good example in 1MDB, that wives can get very rich from their husband's malfeasance.

"So that is one of the reasons why the immediate family should also be subjected to the same level of scrutiny," she said.

Gabriel also said that C4 has met with the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) to discuss the asset declaration framework that is to be presented to the cabinet.

The anti-graft civil society has submitted its draft for a public asset declaration framework to the GIACC, she added, and C4 would be having further discussions on the matter in the weeks to come. -Mkini