Time for law on political finance, says Wan Saiful

 

Wan Saiful Wan Jan says laws on political finance would ‘shut the door’ on problems caused by ambiguous rules.

PETALING JAYA: It is time to introduce laws and regulations to govern political funding, a Bersatu official said today in the wake of a former minister being charged for criminal breach of trust involving party funds.

Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan said he had suggested to his “friends in the Cabinet” that they make a decision on proposals on political finance drawn up by an electoral reform committee.

Wan Saiful said he had joined the committee while with Pakatan Harapan, and a report on political funding had been presented to the government.

“Perikatan Nasional (PN) welcomed the report and it was sent to the Cabinet. I see there is something positive in it. I have proposed to my friends in the Cabinet to make a decision on the suggestions, especially on political funding,” he added.

He said Barisan Nasional had not been serious about political funding laws when it was in power.

“I sat on a committee on political funding during the BN administration. Whatever happened to the committee’s report, no one knows about it,” he said.

Wan Saiful’s comments come just days after Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, a former youth and sports minister, was charged with two counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM1.12 million in Bersatu funds.

He pleaded not guilty to the two charges on Thursday.

It was alleged that in April 2018, he withdrew RM1 million from the Bersatu Youth wing without consent from party leadership, and had also misappropriated RM120,000 in election funds.

Wan Saiful also weighed in on Syed Saddiq’s case, saying it would be better to “shut the door” on issues that arise from “unclear rules”.

“The money donated from the general public to him to pay his bail – should it be taxed and will he need to file it in his tax returns?” he said.

Syed Saddiq said he had raised RM715,000 in public donations for putting up bail. The court granted his release on a RM330,000 bail pending trial.

Syed Saddiq’s case is selective prosecution, says PH

Pakatan Harapan’s presidential council has denounced Syed Saddiq’s charges as selective prosecution, accusing the PN government of using the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission as a “political weapon”.

In a statement, it reiterated that government agencies should not be made political tools to pressure or threaten MPs for the sake of maintaining the administration’s position. - FMT