POLITICIANS should declare their campaign funding if it hits RM10,000 to prevent the misuse of funds, said Universiti Malaya Professor Edmund Terence Gomez today.

He said parties on both sides of the divide were afraid to declare their assets, and that they should do so to prevent negative public perception.

“Ask politicians to declare their funding. Those who receive RM10,000 or more, please declare,” he said at a forum organised by Bersih 2.0 in Petaling Jaya.

Gomez, who specialises in political economy, said both the government and opposition did not have the will to reform political funding laws.

“Politicians are not listening. They don’t want it. That is a scary thought.

“If we don’t know about the funding, how can we be sure that policies are in the interest of the people, and not those who provide the funds?”

He added that politicians should not be the heads of government-linked companies (GLCs), so as to prevent the abuse of power.

“GLCs are being abused. All politicians should not sit on GLCs’ board of directors.

“Let them be run by professionals. We cannot have politicians sitting there (on the board).”

Gomez said in the future, the prime minister should not hold the post of finance minister.

“No PM can hold the portfolio of finance minister. Both sides need to agree to it.

“We have to stop the monetisation of politics. A full set of reforms is required – institutional and legislative.”

Last September, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low Seng Kuan had said laws governing political funding for parties would be ready by the 15th general election.

“The laws won’t be in time for GE14, but will be in place for GE15. It is a big piece of legislation.”

Low had said private and public funding mechanisms for political parties were being discussed, but many were opposed to public funding as they objected to taxpayers funding politicians. – February 11, 2018.