G25 is encouraged by calls from political circles for Malaysia to introduce a legislative framework to support political financing.
Since political parties need money to carry out their activities, the law should establish a framework to govern their efforts in collecting donations from the public, wealthy individuals, private foundations and corporate bodies.
The law is important because it will provide a level playing field for fundraising activities for big and small political parties so that no party has an unfair advantage over its competitors.
The law will also reassure the public that rival political parties are given equal opportunities to raise funds. Additionally, it will protect the public from scams and irresponsible groups seeking to make quick profits.
The public will be more inclined to donate their spare cash to support political parties and election candidates if they see that politicians are held accountable for the funds they raise.
Currently, there is a lot of scepticism about politicians raising funds. If there is a law to regulate political funding, more individuals, institutions and corporate organisations will be willing to offer financial support.
In the West, rich individuals and big companies take pride in letting the public know that they contribute to political parties and election candidates.
In Malaysia, every donation is secret as donors fear being labelled in derogatory terms. Such secrecy is not healthy for politics.
The law should make it clear that no foreign funding is allowed. This is important to protect against foreign influence on our political activities, as it could pose a threat to our national interests.
Many countries have made foreign funding for local political parties and politicians illegal for this reason.
G25 Malaysia
