PETALING JAYA: As part of its efforts to ensure good governance and prevent corrupt practices, Putrajaya is set to re-enforce asset declaration for MPs and administrative members soon with a new format.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in a statement yesterday, said this is in line with the unity government’s mission to promote transparency.
The decision to reintroduce the asset declaration was made following a Special Committee of the National Governance Cabinet (JKKTN) meeting yesterday.
“Through Pantau Madani, the monitoring of Federal Statutory Bodies will be implemented effectively through the empowerment of the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU), Finance Ministry, the National Audit Department and the Performance Surge Coordination Unit.
“The implementation of these guidelines is a priority to support the Madani agenda through the empowerment of statutory bodies.
“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 at the Cabinet meeting in the near future,” according to the statement. Asset declarations of MPs and ministers were first made public during the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2018.
During the 15th General Election campaign in 2022, PKR MPs declared their assets publicly on a website, with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim 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 discharging their role of supporting the implementation of strategies by government agencies and 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.
“It is also to strengthen the structure and composition of the membership of the board of directors by mandating the involvement of the ICU, especially with statutory bodies that receive the allocations of the Five-Year Malaysia Plan.”
