Photo: Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: Describing previous asset declarations by ministers as a farce, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says he is working with the relevant authorities, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), to make the process more transparent.
He said that while ministers had declared their assets in the past, he questioned if the value stated actually reflected what certain individuals owned.
“Declaration of assets in the past was a farce as far as I am concerned, because you find people having hundreds of millions of ringgit and still declaring RM11mil or RM12mil,” he said here on Tuesday (Jan 17) when asked if his Cabinet members had been directed to declare their assets.
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Anwar said the parameters for the declaration of assets must be made clear so that the process becomes more transparent.
“Otherwise, it is a mockery (of the process). I am appalled that people are not critical and accept the declarations at face value.
“Now when we look at the figures and files, it is shocking that most didn’t tell the truth. The public is satisfied, civil society is satisfied, but it does not reflect the real wealth of the person who declared.
“The priority now is to make sure decisions are made responsibly and transparently, instead of being made a political gimmick,” he said.
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When Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad took over the administration in 2018, he had directed his ministers to reveal their assets.
After Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin became prime minister in 2020, he also asked his ministers to do the same.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob went a step further during his premiership, directing members of the judiciary, as well as chief executives of government-linked companies and government-linked investment companies to declare their assets to the MACC.
