Harapan lawmakers to declare their assets to MACC

Lawmakers from the ruling party, including cabinet ministers, will soon have to declare their assets to the MACC, according to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He also said that the prime minister and deputy prime minister will be considered members of the administration who are not above the law.

"There was a (court) decision before, that the prime minister is not a member of the administration (public servants), but we have decided that the prime minister and the deputy prime minister are members of the administration, together with members of the cabinet and representatives of the ruling party.

"They will not be spared. They all have to declare their assets and their income," he said at a press conference in the Prime Minister’s Office today, after a meeting with the special cabinet committee on anti-corruption.

In April 2017, the Kuala Lumpur High Court struck out Mahathir’s misfeasance suit against Najib, as the judge ruled the prime minister is not a public officer by definition.

“If they (the court) makes a ruling that is not in keeping with the current thinking, we can amend the law.

“If the court says the prime minister and the deputy prime minister are above the law, we can change that,” Mahathir said.

Saying no to 'gifts'

Another measure the government intends to take to prevent corruption, the prime minister stated, is to mandate Harapan lawmakers to report any gifts they receive to the relevant authorities.

While small items such as flowers, food items and commemorative plaques will be allowed as gifts, he said lawmakers will still be required to report these gifts to the authorities.

“If there are any gifts that are not allowed, then these gifts cannot be accepted by the prime minister, deputy prime minister or ministers.

“Of course, if they are given a Mercedes car, they have to reject it. Even if it is a Proton car, they also cannot (accept),” he said.

Civil servants will also have to report gifts they have received to authorities, or report similar incidents happening in their ministries or departments of gifts being received.

These measures will be enforced once the civil service’s code of ethics is amended, which will be as soon as possible, the prime minister said.

Reports no longer under OSA

Mahathir also noted that unlike the previous administration, the government will no longer hide pertinent reports under the Official Secret Act (OSA) 1972.

He referred to the reports submitted from several institutions to the government over the 1MDB case, such as the auditor-general's report appended to the Public Accounts Committee report on the troubled state fund.

“If those reports did not show wrongdoing, then why the need to put it under OSA?

“Normally, you cannot hide reports like that, especially the (auditor-general's) report, which the public should know about. But again this was hidden from the public.

“This kind of thing cannot be done now,” he said.

Mahathir is expected to attend a special briefing at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya tomorrow over these new anti-corruption measures. -Mkini