Asset disclosures by politicians are a step in the right direction, but not enough. Donations to political parties should also be publicly declared.
That’s because such donations (whether in cash or in kind), especially by tycoons and big corporations, can influence political decisions possibly to the detriment of the people.
A reader left this comment on the Aliran website:
Should not all political parties as well be required to declare the sources of their incomes, their assets and liabilities, and especially those related to elections?
Should not all donors (irrespective of the size of their donations) to political parties also be listed and their identities published for all to scrutinise?
Only when a comprehensive approach to tackling political graft is adopted and enforced – which includes money raised and spent by political parties – will the twin scourge of corruption and undue political influence be curbed.
A public register of the audited states of income and expenditure statements and balance sheets of the various political parties, along with notes showing the breakdown and identity of political donors should be displayed.
In this way, voters will have a better idea of which party (and which big company!) they are voting for.
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What is there to say the foreign bank accounts, holding the ill gotten gains, are hidden need to be disclosed and what is there to ensure that that is done ?
You don’t need to be someone with the brain of a mouse to know where to hide and keep any stolen gains !
Not going to happen before Malaysia change government, well, same political needs for not doing that . Well , i guess everyone know what i means.
Agree. This is a Catch-22. Moreover, we refuse to learn from mistakes elsewhere. In the “great democracy” USA, the Supreme Court made an unsolicited declaration that businesses have rights like people. It has also held that they can contribute unlimited amounts in secret to politicians. It has supported federal approval for projects that devastate places against the opposition of local (e.g. municipal) goverments.
It looks like capitalism will finish us off.