Political funding: A reality check
Let’s face it. All political parties, including those in the opposition, receive donations and contributions from their supporters. Otherwise how would they carry their vast organisation and nationwide activities, which need to be sustained throughout the five-year gap between elections?
Abdul Rahman Dahlan, The Malaysian Insider
When Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz recently made an announcement in Parliament reflecting on the decision of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in clearing Datuk Seri Musa Aman of the alleged corruption charges, a cynical smile cracked my face: the opposition must be finding themselves in a very awkward position now.
While previously they have had a field day attacking Musa’s alleged abuse of power and corruption, the same announcement has coerced them into changing their “attack-with-extreme-prejudice” strategy.
A few days after the announcement, the opposition conveniently shifted the attack from Musa to political funding for Umno. Source of the condemnation — this time around — includes calls that such funding is preposterous, labelling such funding as unacceptable and that a royal commission of inquiry must be called in instantly.
While I leave the opposition to their agenda, let’s peel some underlying truth within the fabric of Malaysian politics. It is not illegal for any Malaysian to give money to a political party of his or her choice — or to anybody for that matter. Should the donor wish to remain under the cloak of anonymity, the request should be respected as long as the donation stays within the confines of the law.
But the opposition’s world thrives on the axis of inequality and double standards. Allow me to illustrate my point. When the donation falls into Umno’s coffer, the source must be revealed immediately. But have you heard the opposition declaring the sources of donation they have received so far? We all know that the opposition, too, receives political donations from all and sundry. How ironic!
For instance, take the spanking new multi-million ringgit DAP headquarters in Penang, which the DAP decided to acquire within two years after assuming office in Penang. The Penang DAP headquarters building is reported to have cost about RM3.5 million. According to the Penang DAP chairman, the money was collected through donations. Apparently millions have been collected to date.
When I asked a senior DAP leader on Twitter who financed the building, he replied in no uncertain terms that the millions collected were from the DAP’s well-wishers and loyal supporters. It is interesting to note that when individuals give money to the DAP, it is called “sincere donation” but when the same treatment is accorded to Umno, the opposition cries “Foul!” and accuses Umno of cronyism, corruption and abuse of power.
Ironically, while Musa is accused by the opposition of looting and pillaging Sabah’s rich timber areas, it was his incessant drive to protect the timber and the forest from being plundered by the irresponsible few that made him the darling of environmental groups from around the world. These organisations consistently heap praises on Musa’s forest conservation programmes. Forest areas are being replanted at a record pace under Musa’s watch, making hundreds of thousands of previously logged areas green again within 30 years.
In fact, during his tenure as chief minister, Musa gazetted more forest areas with lucrative timber profits and placed them under the protection of the State Assembly to ensure that no chief minister — including himself — could unilaterally give permission to log the protected areas without express approval from the State Assembly!
The same fervour is seen in Musa’s handling of the state’s huge reserves of minerals such as coal, silica, gold and limestone which, if mined, are potentially worth billions to the state’s coffer.
When asked why he does not utilise these resources, which could potentially increase the state’s revenue instead of spending effort and money on his conservation agenda, Musa frankly replied: “Sabah at the moment is already blessed with oil money, so let’s keep the forest and minerals for our children’s and grandchildren’s future.”
Now if you go by what is being alleged by the opposition in Parliament, you would think Sabah finances were in utter mess — plundered by corrupt leaders and at the same time causing millions of its people to go destitute and live in a broken society.
That is far from the truth. The fact of the matter is under Musa as the chief minister, Sabah has grown by leaps and bounds. The cash reserves of the state are at an all-time high, surpassing even the two most industrialised states in Malaysia (Selangor and Penang) and still growing strong as we speak. If the chief minister was corrupt to the core as painted by the opposition, the state would be penniless. It doesn’t take a genius to empty the state coffers if one is a “vacuum cleaner” as alleged by the opposition.
