Let PSC draft political funding bill, says bipartisan group
PETALING JAYA: The All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPG) has urged Putrajaya to let a parliamentary select committee (PSC) draft the upcoming political funding bill, like how it was done for the anti-hopping bill. PAS MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, chairman of the political financing APPG, pointed out that the group had…
PETALING JAYA: The All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPG) has urged Putrajaya to let a parliamentary select committee (PSC) draft the upcoming political funding bill, like how it was done for the anti-hopping bill.
PAS MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, chairman of the political financing APPG, pointed out that the group had already drafted and submitted a private member’s bill for the law on July 13.
The Pasir Mas MP said once a PSC is formed to draft the bill, the committee should draw from the best bits of the APPG’s bill and the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ (AGC) input in formulating the law.
He said this was better than just rushing through the AGC’s bill and tabling it at the upcoming Dewan Rakyat meeting, which starts in October.
“The needs and concerns of each party with regards to political financing will differ. These differences must be openly discussed and taken into consideration to ensure the bill is fair to all political parties.
“The recent example of the PSC for the anti-hopping bill is a positive one and ought to be replicated for political financing as well. Introducing a bill as important as this should not be rushed and deliberation with all parties is a must,” he said in a statement.
Tricia Yeoh, from the political financing APPG’s secretariat, welcomed law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar’s efforts in consulting civil society and political parties in formulating the bill.
Yeoh, CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, backed Fadhli’s call for a PSC to draft the bill.
“Finally, we also hope to see politicians and political parties across the divide supporting the formation of the PSC,” she said.
In August, Wan Junaidi said the drafting of the political funding bill will be expedited for it to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat, which will next meet from Oct 3 to Nov 29.
He said a memorandum on the bill was expected to be presented to the Cabinet in September for approval before Parliament reconvenes. — Free Malaysia Today