PUTRAJAYA has been urged to end political funding if it wants to take its fight against corruption up a notch.

Country Heights Holdings Bhd chairman Lee Kim Yew has described political funding as the “mother of corruption”.

“We can give the government a pass if it finds it hard to repair our education system or our development, but we must not excuse it if it is not serious in fighting corruption.

“The government must end political funding as it is the mother of corruption. If we can’t get rid of corruption, we can’t get rid of other problems,” said the businessman at a high tea appreciation event organised by the National Patriots Association (Patriot).

Lee, a close associate of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, told guests that the country should be thankful to have the 93-year-old politician back at the helm.

Lee, recalled how he was concerned about Malaysia’s future prior to the May 9 election victory in 2018. He also met Dr Mahathir a few times to discuss the country’s future.

“It was in 2015 when I got to know what was happening in our country (1MDB scandal). In 2017, I was slapped with Amla (Anti Money Laundering Act) to intimidate me. At the same time, I feel I must do something. I met with Dr Mahathir and also I worked closely with Patriot.

“We came up with Jalur Gemilang Patriotic Forum and the Forum Aspirasi Rakyat on April 21 last year, just weeks before the election. The people of this country has spoken that they do not wish to see a corrupt regime,” he said.

Meanwhile, lawyer and activist Ambiga Sreeneevasan, who was one of the speakers, reminded the government to pay more attention to the people rather than trying to consolidate power.

“The government must never forget how ordinary people work so hard to secure victory for the Pakatan Harapan. How overseas voters work so hard to get their ballots counted, how local activism work to get people to go home and vote, and many more hardships.

“The government must never forget that and they must always remember that the focus has to be for the people.”

The former Bersih 2.0 chairperson said there are still many things to do before reminding politicians to stop searching for power.

“Politicians have to remember that they will win if they make the right move. The real work starts after the win and we must be ever vigilant so that our effort not goes to waste.

“Until our institution is strengthened, we cannot stop and rest.”

The event today was organised at the Palace of the Golden Horses that is owned by Lim.

It was also attended by G25 de facto chairman Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, Patriot president Brig-Gen (rtd) Mohamed Arshad Raji and academic Prof Zaharom Nair. – April 21, 2019