PETALING JAYA: A new format of asset declarations for Members of Parliament and members of the federal administration will be revealed soon, says the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
In a statement on Monday (Jan 8), the PMO said this is to ensure good governance within Putrajaya, in line with the Unity Government’s mission to promote transparency and prevent corrupt practices.
The decision to reintroduce the asset declaration was made following a National Governance Cabinet special committee (JKKTN) meeting on the same day.
“Through Pantau Madani, the monitoring of Federal Statutory Bodies (BBP) will be implemented more effectively through the empowerment of the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU, JPM), Finance Ministry, the National Audit Department and the Performance Surge Coordination Unit (PACU, JPM).
“The implementation of these guidelines is a priority to support the Madani agenda through the empowerment of BBP.
“In line with the principle of transparency, JKKTN also discussed the new format of asset declaration by members of the administration and Members of Parliament to be re-enforced.
“This new format will be presented in the Cabinet meeting in the near future,” read the statement.
Asset declarations of MPs and ministers were first made public during the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2018.
During the 15th General Election in 2022, PKR MPs including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim declared their assets publicly on a website with Anwar himself declaring a net asset of RM11.18mil.
The PMO said good governance must be an essential part of statutory bodies as they affect the country's economic growth aside from supporting the implementation of strategies by agencies and other government departments.
Therefore, it said that the government has decided to strengthen the process of appointing chairmen and board members of statutory bodies based on transparent criteria.
This will include mandating a proper assessment process through the integrity review of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), insolvency and police screening.
“Other reforms include strengthening the role of Internal Audit as a whole at the statutory bodies level including their companies and corporations.
“Also, to strengthen the structure and composition of the membership of the board of directors by mandating the involvement of the ICU JPM especially for statutory bodies that receive allocations under the Five-Year Malaysia Plan.”
