PKR DUN 19 Kepayan P174 Penampang, Sabah.

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MACC - Public declaration Posted: 02 Aug 2010 06:29 AM PDT PKR Sabah Treasurer - Dr Roland Chia Ming Shen is in disbelief with the reluctance of the Home Minister — Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein reluctance for Cabinet members to publicly declare their assets as part of rebuffing a proposal from the nation's anti-graft chief. Instead, the home minister said it was sufficient for ministers to inform the prime minister of their financial worth. All elected representatives and those in executive powers owed their allegiance and loyalty to the Rakyat and not just the Prime Minister. It was the rakyat that voted them into power. On the other hand the MACC comes under the purview of the Parliament as the MACC Act was passed in the parliament, thus the Home Minister must respect the Doctrine Separation of Powers namely Parliament, Judiciary and Executive and not trying to sidestep what MACC is appointed to do. Otherwise MACC will lose its credibility in the eyes of the public. Last week, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed said that he intended to push members of the Najib administration to declare their assets publicly.The nation's top graft-buster said that the declaration of assets was "very, very important." Currently, Cabinet members disclose their assets to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak annually but such declarations are kept private. Following the heavy losses Barisan Nasional (BN) took in Election 2008, then-prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had directed Cabinet members to declare their assets in a bid to appease a public that was increasingly sceptical of BN's capacity for reform. Ministers as well as deputy ministers were required to fill in asset declaration forms with the MACC's predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), with the intention of making the information available online for public scrutiny. However, Abdullah backed down from this plan after facing stiff opposition from ministers, who felt that it would be an invasion of privacy for the public to know their financial worth. Both Indonesia and the United States have policies where its leaders declare their assets as part of their anti-graft drives. If our ministers have nothing to hide regarding their wealth, then why shy from declaring it to the public ? Today it will cost nothing if the declarations are published in the PM department's website or any other government web-site. Indeed, all people in public service's asset declaration should be published as publishing hardly costs anyhting especially if you make them use "ON-LINE" declarations like so many things are being done now. The Government could even charge say RM5 for a search. If people choose or aspire to hold the highest public office, then they must be open to public scrutiny when they assume office. It's a choice they have to make. If they want to have privacy, then please don't hold high public office. It's ridiculous for the cabinet and judiciary plus they immediate family to shun this practice. What have they got to hide?? MACC, please keep pushing the issue. It is fundamental to transparency and accountability.

兵县服务表现差劲 Posted: 01 Aug 2010 08:52 PM PDT

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