Corruption fighters dare everyone in GE15 race to show clean hands

 

Corruption battlers Cynthia Gabriel and Akhbar Satar have urged all GE15 candidates to show their wallets.

PETALING JAYA: Two prominent anti-graft activists have called on other election candidates to follow the example of their PKR counterparts who have declared their assets.

Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism executive director Cynthia Gabriel said asset declarations were essential for public accountability while former Transparency International Malaysia president Akhbar Satar said declaring one’s assets would boost a candidate’s credibility and integrity.

Most of PKR’s 72 candidates for the Nov 19 general election (GE15) have declared their assets, with deputy president Rafizi Ramli being among the first to do so.

On Nov 2, Rafizi, who is contesting the Pandan seat, declared RM18,851,350 in net assets as of Oct 31 this year.

Cynthia applauded Rafizi and the other PKR candidates for declaring their assets, saying greater transparency from politicians would lead to better governance.

“Every GE15 candidate is urged to declare (his or her) assets and must be truthful in doing so in order to win public trust.

“If they are unwilling to meet public disclosure, it says a lot about the candidates’ commitment towards good governance,” she told FMT.

Akhbar said it was crucial for Malaysian politicians to declare their assets and income given the growing international trend requiring parliamentarians to do so to curb corruption and ensure clean and transparent governance.

“The aim of asset declaration is to prevent corruption and detect misappropriation of public funds when in power,” he said.

“Declaring assets is a measure to increase transparency and trust in the public administration, preventing conflict of interest, illicit enrichment and proliferation of unexplained wealth.”

Akhbar said a hesitancy to declare assets likely meant a candidate had acquired money through corruption and abuse of power while Cynthia said those who had yet to declare their assets likely feared public scrutiny and questions on the sources of their wealth. - FMT