Malaysia’s draft Political Funding Bill is being developed through 20 stakeholder sessions, with a public perception study due in February
KUALA LUMPUR: The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department has conducted 20 stakeholder engagement sessions as part of the process to draft the Political Funding Bill.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department M. Kulasegaran said 12 of these sessions were held at the state level, involving 1,544 participants from federal and state government agencies, political parties, and non-governmental organisations.
Key feedback received includes issues of public funding for political parties, the need for public disclosure of party financial reports, permissible contribution limits, and categories of allowed or prohibited donors.
He was responding to a question from Suhaizan Kaiat regarding the government’s progress on drafting an act to ensure transparency in political funding.
Kulasegaran added that a public perception study is being conducted by a research team led by the International Islamic University of Malaysia with NGO and civil society representatives, which is expected to be completed on 28 February.
The findings from the engagement sessions and the public study will be combined to form the policy parameters for the bill.
Policy proposals will then be referred to the Dewan Rakyat’s Special Select Committee on Human Rights, Elections and Institutional Reform.
The government is also examining the practices of other countries that have equivalent laws covering all aspects of political funding and have proven successful in implementation.
