KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — The Dewan Negara today approved a motion which compels all senators to declare their assets, following a similar move by Dewan Rakyat requiring Members of Parliament to do the same.
The motion, tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong, was passed through block voting with the support of 34 of the 57 senators who debated the motion.
Earlier, when tabling the motion, Liew said the declaration of assets should be made by members of the senate, their spouses and children, and trustees in Statutory Declaration and shall be submitted to the Dewan Negara President and a copy to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner.
He said only the details of the asset declaration by Dewan Negara members would be posted on the MACC portal for three months.
When winding up the debate, Liew said so far no security issue had arisen following the declaration of assets by ministers and deputy ministers, which has been posted on the MACC portal since October last year.
“I have already declared my assets and it is on the MACC portal. So far, there are no security issues affecting me and my family.
“In my case, I inherited some assets from my late father and mother, so the value of the property from year to year rose to millions. But that’s just the value of the land, in terms of cash I do not have. It only shows the value of assets owned, not the financial position of the elected representative at that time,” he added.
Liew said he also did not receive any complaints on information leak or harassment from third parties following the posting of property declaration of cabinet members on the MACC portal.
He assured Dewan Negara members of the confidentiality of the information provided and told them not to worry about the transformation being carried out by the government.
The property declaration is only to ensure transparency of information thus creating a country that is clean and free from corruption, he added. — Bernama
