January 19, 2012
KUALA
LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Lim Guan Eng said today that public officials should
declare their assets but appeared to agree with Umno minister Datuk Seri
Mohamed Nazri Aziz to exclude family members.
However, the Penang Chief Minister stressed that declarations should
be verified by independent audit firms instead of the Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which he labelled a Barisan Nasional
(BN) “tool”.
“The first step is to start with ministers and those who hold
positions of public trust, not with family members, because they may
have their own sources of income,” Lim (picture) told a press conference today.
He was responding to Nazri’s statement today that ministers and their
kin should not be compelled to disclose their assets to the public as
it could endanger them.
“I think I can understand where Nazri is coming from. For those who
have inherited assets, inherited wealth, or those with family wealth,
those who were successful even before politics... that wealth, of
course, may be subjected to attention for unhealthy elements.
“But there is a necessity, at least as the first step, to ask all
office bearers, those who hold positions of public trust, to declare
their assets,” Lim said.
The MACC announced yesterday its proposal that all Cabinet ministers,
deputy ministers and their immediate family members sign statutory
declarations (SD) to declare their assets with the agency.
But Lim said the MACC could not be trusted, and urged the federal
government to follow in the footsteps of Penang by appointing an
independent audit firm to oversee the asset declarations.
“I feel the MACC is a tool of the BN. That’s why we (Penang
government) never asked the MACC... our assets are verified by KPMG, an
international independent audit firm... because I think they have more
standing that MACC,” said Lim.
Cabinet ministers are presently required to disclose their assets to the Prime Minister but the information is not made public.
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