PN’s alleged misappropriation: Urgent need for further oversight and transparency

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the previous Perikatan Nasional administration had allegedly misappropriated tens of billions in ringgit in violation of proper procedure.

The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) is horrified at these revelations and demands that investigations are undertaken thoroughly and transparently, and that those found responsible should be swiftly brought to justice.

Prior to this announcement, the previous PN administration led by former Prime Minister Mahiaddin Yasin had been dogged by allegations of misappropriation of up to RM600bn.

Mahiaddin has vehemently denied the allegations, citing them as politically motivated, or that this sum was the result of misattribution to financial schemes that did not actually involve government expenditure such as Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals and loan moratoriums.

Anwar Ibrahim has since confirmed that the RM600bn figure mostly comprised of EPF withdrawals and loan moratoriums, as stated by Mahiaddin, but there were still tens of billions spent that pointed towards impropriety. Anwar also indicated that there were several important companies that had family ties to people in politics.

Additionally, matters regarding political financing were raised. Anwar earlier stated that money misappropriated by the previous administration went to ‘certain parties’ for use during the recent general elections. This was after claiming that certain parties were receiving funding from gaming companies and that some companies in the gambling industry had a hand in financing elections.

Anwar also decreed that the frequency of special lucky draws made annually would be decreased to eight from 22, as was previously the case during the PN administration.

These allegations, if found to be true, constitute grievous abuse of power and abandonment of the mandate to serve the people by the previous administration. Crucially, this is not merely a matter of principle – if billions were misappropriated for self-enrichment or lost through leakages, that is billions in taxpayers’ money that deprived [the people] of life-saving medical services and welfare programmes. This is especially heinous considering that Malaysians continue to be ravaged by a pandemic that killed thousands and plunged hundreds of thousands more into economic insecurity.

While the prime minister has announced that the matter was passed to the relevant authorities and has since provided assurance that investigations are underway, the current administration can and must go further.

Hence, C4 Center makes the following demands:

• The investigations must take place transparently – owing to the gravity of the situation, it must not take place behind closed doors. The current administration must provide details of the relevant institution that is leading the investigations. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), as a bipartisan, independent institution accountable to Parliament, should take the lead on investigations. Progress reports must be made publicly available and accessible, and given a tentative timeline that outlines when the investigations are expected to be completed and when the findings can be presented to the public [and] tabled in Parliament
• Reforms that ensure transparency and accountability in governance must be given urgent priority, specifically enacting procurement, political financing and asset declaration acts, and far-reaching institutional checks and balances such as upholding the independence of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and establishing an ombudsman answerable only to Parliament
• The procurement act is of particular importance here – no doubt, excessive procurements without tender were able to be made on the basis of an emergency arising from the Covid pandemic. A procurement act would serve to outline and delineate the limits in which procurements can be made in possible future emergencies instead of allowing unchecked executive power to decide arbitrarily
• Likewise, the political financing act carries similar significance here as the previous PN administration was alleged to have received external funding from private entities, thus prioritising the interests of these private entities over the public interest. If left unchecked, the ever-tightening business-political nexus results in state capture, whereby the interests of businesses completely overtake those of society and the people at large.
• Individuals found responsible for abuse of power and breach of public duty must be tried in court and if found guilty, serve their sentence without delay. Should these guilty individuals be politicians or people in positions of leadership such as ministers or MPs, they should be stripped of their positions and barred from re-entering public office for a certain period, as decided by the court
• Further to this, the government must also establish corruption courts to deal with matters of this nature, exclusively composed of judiciary members who are specifically trained in such areas of law. This will accelerate the conclusion of cases which, at present, are needlessly delayed and take years to resolve – C4 Center

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama

1. Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
2. Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
3. Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
4. Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
5. Lawan rasuah dan kronisme

Support our work by making a donation. Tap to download the QR code below and scan this QR code from Gallery by using TnG e-wallet or most banking apps: