KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng is currently ranked as having the highest income out of the 40-odd MPs from the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition and its allies who have publicly declared their assets, while Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is at the third spot.
The list of MPs, along with the date of their declaration of assets, as well as whether their spouse and children have made similar declarations, is available for public viewing on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's dedicated portal here.
The MACC's asset declaration portal lists Lim as having a declared income of RM86,464.92 as of October 10, while Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has a declared income of RM77,629.68 as of October 18.
Dr Mahathir has a declared income of RM75,861.57 as of October 19.
Lim is listed as having declared his spouse and his children's income as well while Saifuddin has declared his own; Dr Mahathir has declared only both his and his wife's assets.
This is the first time in Malaysia’s history that the assets of MPs or ministers have been made public, in what is seen as a move to curb the alleged culture of corruption prevalent under the previous administration.
At the time of writing, the portal lists 48 MPs and members of the federal government as having declared their assets, with the top three coming from DAP, PKR and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) respectively.
According to the current list, DAP MP and Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow is the fourth-highest earner with a declared income of RM73,576.15, followed by PPBM MP and Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at RM72,276.37, DAP MP and Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok at RM68,142.66, and Parti Warisan Sabah MP and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi at RM67,483.43.
Rounding up the top 10 highest-earners in the current list is PKR MP Datuk Mansor Othman (RM60,719), independent-turned-PKR MP Larry Sng (RM59,065.39) and finally at the 10th spot, PKR's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at RM59,048.33.
The MP with the least assets in the MACC list at the time of writing is former polls reform activist Maria Chin Abdullah at RM21,000. The figures for two of the 48 MPs were not listed at the time of writing - DAP MP Wong Shu Qi and Hindraf's minister in charge of national unity and social well-being Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy.
The commission did not define the periods for which the incomes were declared.
The MACC asset declaration portal states that detailed information regarding asset ownership will be displayed after technical problems are resolved. It appears that the portal is being updated incrementally, with names subsequently added on to the initial list of 48 names at the time of writing.
According to a pie chart on the MACC asset declaration portal at the time of writing, only 47 or 38.2 per cent of MPs from the ruling parties have declared their assets, while 76 or 61.8 per cent of these MPs have yet to do so. (This is despite 48 names being listed as having made their asset declarations).
Another pie chart showed 20 or 40.8 per cent of members in the administration have declared their assets, while another 29 or 59.2 per cent have not done so.
Based on the MACC portal, MPs who are not listed at the time of writing as having declared their assets include the prime minister's son Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (PPBM-Jerlun) and the deputy prime minister's daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Permatang Pauh).
The MACC had repeatedly deferred the public display of asset declarations from the initially scheduled date of October 1 to October 15, and finally to November 1 after the Cabinet decided to give MPs and ministers more time to make the declarations.
