Minister Azalina says political parties must formally state their stand on the Political Funding Bill, denying reform delays are political.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU) has been directed to seek the official stand of registered political parties on the proposed Political Funding Bill before it is tabled to the Cabinet.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said this would enable the government to identify which parties supported or opposed the proposal, as well as their reasons and suggestions for improvement.
“I want written responses from the approximately 72 registered parties. If we only survey politicians, they may say their views are personal and do not bind their parties.
“So we want the parties to formally state in writing why they agree or disagree on the proposed Bill,” she told reporters after officiating the 2026 Political Funding Convention at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) here today.
Azalina said BHEUU had conducted 18 engagement sessions, including 12 at state level, involving 1,544 participants from political parties, government agencies, academia, civil society organisations, the business sector and youth groups.
The minister said nine policy parameters were being refined based on the consultations, covering areas including the scope of application, regulatory body, sources and limits of contributions, prohibition of foreign donations, traceable channels for receiving funds, reporting, auditing, disclosure, offences and penalties.
On the delay in drafting the Bill, Azalina stressed that it was not due to political delays but legal processes and procedures which required scrutiny.
She said the reform process should not be rushed simply to meet current public perceptions, while procedural constraints should also not be used as an excuse to delay the reform agenda.
Earlier in her keynote address, Azalina said political funding was not merely about financing political parties or election candidates, but was directly linked to democratic integrity, political accountability and public confidence in the system of government.
Without a clear legal framework, she said, political funding could create opportunities for conflicts of interest, abuse of power, political corruption and undue influence over decision-making.
Azalina said the MADANI Government remained committed to implementing the reform, with BHEUU taking over the study on drafting the Political Funding Bill in May 2023, while the Cabinet subsequently agreed in principle to the proposal on Sept 8, 2023.
Speaking as a lawyer, Azalina said the absence of legislation governing political funding could expose more people in the political arena to allegations of corruption when accepting political donations.
She said this could happen because the purpose of such assistance was not clearly defined and there were no records such as receipts, notification of the amount or details of the assistance provided.
“Without an Act governing political funding, I believe more problems will arise in our country. Those providing assistance can easily be perceived as committing corruption because the purpose of the contribution is not clearly defined,” she added.
