Once I got into politics, I saw the real fight, where big money controls everything, and where politicians care more about campaign contributions than the people they’re supposed to represent. – Richard Ojeda, American politician and retired US army soldier
Political financing is at the heart of a political party’s sustainable functioning and survival.
In this day and age, the political ideology and beliefs of a political party without political financing will see it remain either on the fringe of politics or end with its eventual demise, no matter how good its message or intention is.
Therefore, regulation of political funding sources and expenditure of funds during elections are contentious issues.
Some individuals and civil society groups have been calling for a political a funding law since the 1990s.
However, not much attention was initially given to these requests for political financing laws for various reasons. One such reason was that they were just vague ideas without specific proposals. Lack of political will in the past also stalled any progress.
Currently, there are limitations on campaign spending by each candidate – RM200,000 for federal elections and RM100,000 for state elections.
However, to date, there are no laws to regulate and monitor the sources and management of political funds that could be seen as levelling the electoral process.
Presently unlimited anonymous political donations are allowed to be given to political parties. In addition to this, political parties are also entitled to own and run businesses.
Any ruling party at the moment can also benefit via direct donations or indirect support from the vast government linked companies (GLC) network. The financial contributions can be significant since GLCs form a substantial part of Malaysia’s economy.
Over the last few years, proposals by civil society for political funding laws have grown louder and increased in frequency, especially since several high-profile court cases linked to “political donations”.
This demand for changes gathered pace, especially after revelations in the 1MDB case.
In 2021, Malaysia ranked 62 out of 180 countries under the Corruption Perceptions Index. This was a drop in ranking, and it does not reflect well on our country.
Not many might be aware that the United Nations also takes a stance on political funding. This is done via the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), Article 7.3.
This article requests member nations to have legislation and administrative measures to enhance transparency in the funding of political candidates and the funding of political parties.
Currently, Malaysia does not have an all-encompassing law to monitor political funding. There are only a few laws, such as the Election Offences Act 1954, the Societies Act 1966 and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009.
As a structured effort, political funding laws were first presented in 2016 by the then National Consultative Committee on Political Financing.
The proposed Political Donations and Expenditure Act did not make it to Parliament due to resistance from many political fronts before the 2018 general election.
In 2019, the PH government intended to proceed, but the government collapsed in February, the following year.
Now, in comes Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law). Fresh from his success in guiding the recent Anti-Hopping Law [the Constitution (Amendment) (No.3) Act 2022] he is now bringing about another reformation via the proposed Political Funding Bill.
To his credit, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in May said the government agreed in principle to the proposed enactment of a Political Funding Bill.
To this end, the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-corruption (GIACC) has been directed to take charge of the Bill’s policy drafting.
It is reassuring that Wan Junaidi has already conducted several rounds of stakeholder engagement sessions. Non-governmental organisations such as the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), and academicians have already been consulted.
In the pipeline are sessions with MPs, government agencies, and departments on the proposed law.
According to Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi, “The government is confident and remains committed that the Bill will be tabled in the coming Parliament meeting for its first reading in early November and that it will be ready for the second time at the end of that month.”
He has further added that “the main objective of his Bill was to ensure that donations and contributions to political parties are accounted for, including how the money is used. We no longer want this money to be kept or hidden in certain places because money donated to certain parties (must) go through a fund that is administered by a responsible party.”
He has also announced that there is a proposal for an agency to control political donations in every state.
Wan Junaidi deserves a pat on his back for bringing in reforms on ‘Good Governance’.
I hope the Political Funding Bill gets through Parliament this time without any hurdles.
It is high time we have a transparent and accountable system that upholds the values espoused under the rule of law.
However, challenges always lie in the enforcement of laws, but this law would be a good start.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
