Lawyers for Liberty says little is known about the proposed Political Donations and Expenditure legislation.
PETALING JAYA: Lawyers for Liberty has expressed concern over the proposed Political Donations and Expenditure legislation that seeks to regulate “political funding”.
The NGO said little was known about its contents other than the bits and pieces reported in the press.
The legislation is currently being drafted by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (Integriti) and is expected to be completed soon.
“It is completely unacceptable and shocking that such an important legislation with wide ranging repercussions on the political and possibly civil society landscape, is being drafted surreptitiously and without any consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
“While there may be a need for some form of ‘political funding’ regulations that are in line with international standards and norms, it is certainly questionable as to why this legislation is suddenly being mooted, especially when there is no genuine consultation with the stakeholders,” said Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen.
He expressed concern that the legislation would be misused to completely outlaw foreign funding or place unreasonable restrictions on foreign funding, as seen in states like Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Hungary and Russia, in order to clamp down on independent NGOs critical of the government.
“Laws should not be drafted in secrecy and then rushed through Parliament. We therefore call for the draft legislation to be published in full to enable all stakeholders including political parties, NGOs and the press to meaningfully discuss and debate the matter.”
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