Political donations to govt party, opposition not the same - MACC source

 

The element of corruption when a government party receives political donations is not the same as when such funds are channelled to the opposition party, an MACC source said.

This is because the opposition is not in a position to hand out favours to their donors, unlike the government, the senior officer said on condition of anonymity.

On Friday, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was charged with abuse of power and money laundering involving RM232.5 million which was directed into his party's accounts.

Muhyiddin claimed that the funds were political donations, and dared the MACC to go after PKR and Umno - parties that he said must have also received such funding.

Asked to comment on this, the MACC senior officer said that, in general terms, whether a party is in power or not is a major consideration for investigators.

"Say you are Pejuang. I give you a donation for your campaign and all that, but I don't have any business or official dealings with you because you have never given me any projects.

"So I can give and you can receive. This is not wrong.

"Compare that to a ruling party which has the power to approve projects, and then a company gets a project and is asked to give a percentage of that project. This is different," the source said.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin

PKR was in the opposition prior to the 15th general election, while Umno was in government, together with Bersatu.

Political funding is currently unregulated although a bill has been in the making for many years, with previous governments vowing to table such a law.

In the latest development, the current government said the bill would be referred to a Parliament special select committee for further deliberation.

Bribery case and abuse of power

Meanwhile, on why only recipients are charged in high-profile cases, such as Muhyiddin's, despite the MACC Act punishing both the giver and receiver, the source said there is a distinction between a straightforward bribery case and abuse of power.

In a simple gratification case, the official said, either the giver or the receiver, or both, would be charged in court for bribery.

However, in the case of abuse of power, the individual who abused his or her position to get gratification would get charged in court.

"Read Section 23 of the MACC Act. It says that when an officer of a public body abuses his position to get gratification either for his benefit, or for the benefit of his family, or for his associate, he has therefore committed an offence."

According to the source, even in normal graft cases, charges would usually be pressed against the receiver, who is in a position to force the other party to give the bribe.

"Normally, the person who receives will be charged because he or she suppresses the other party to give money, that is why the person who receives is always the main accused," the source said.

The source added that givers are also often prosecution witnesses, and going after them would make it hard for investigators to get cooperation.

"So, who would cooperate (with MACC) then?" the senior officer asked. - Mkini