Terengganu, Selangor top budget transparency index

 

The Terengganu and Selangor state governments have tied for first place in the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) Malaysia Open Budget Index (MyOBI) 2024.

The index, which analyses state budget transparency, scored the two states 76 out of 100 points under the “public availability” category that measures access to key budget documents.

Ideas CEO Tricia Yeoh, in her opening speech to launch the index today, stressed the importance of budget transparency and public participation in managing taxpayer money.

Tricia Yeoh

“Ultimately, the purpose of transparency is to enable accountability and democratic participation in the budget process.

“MyOBI aims to entrench a national benchmark for proactive financial disclosure from 13 state governments.

“By ranking the states in terms of budget transparency, we hope to see the states competing to improve their status, as well as on oversight measures,” Yeoh said.

The Perikatan Nasional-led Terengganu state assembly under Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar currently has 32 government representatives and zero opposition.

Met after the launch in Kuala Lumpur, Yeoh said the assembly should set up select committees made up of backbenchers who are not a part of the state administration.

“They may not have opposition lawmakers but they can make use of their backbenchers to scrutinise the budget.

“In a way, they have to be encouraged to act as a check-and-balance mechanism,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Subang Jaya assemblyperson Michelle Ng, as chairperson of the Selangor state assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, said there are eight other select committees with powers to conduct hearings on issues of concern.

“As a state assembly member, I can write to the chairperson of a select committee and say, ‘This issue is happening so please look into it’,” said Ng at a panel discussion held as part of the MyOBI launch.

She added that state governments could eventually publish the hansard or transcript of select committee hearings as public documents.

According to the MyOBI Public Availability Scores, aside from Terengganu and Selangor in joint first place, Negeri Sembilan and Perak in 3rd and 4th place also scored enough to meet the standards for “substantial disclosure” of key budget documents.

The states from 5th to 9th place provided “minimal disclosure” while the last four states - Perlis, Kelantan, Kedah, and Pahang - recorded “insufficient disclosure”. - Mkini