MUAR, Nov 10 — Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, the incumbent Muar MP bidding to defend his seat, has declared tonight a net asset of over RM1.9 million as of September 30 this year.

The Malaysian Democratic United Alliance (Muda) president, a former minister, told a press conference here that tonight’s asset declaration is crucial for transparency, as he called on other candidates to do the same.

"I think it’s better if we just come clean,” he said.

The bulk of Syed Saddiq's asset is in the form of investment in fixed deposit, unit trust and mutual funds at nearly RM1.25 million.

He declared a total asset of RM2.819 million including liability of some RM909,000, most of it from loans taken to finance a family home and another property around Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur.

The family home is a double-story semi-detached home in Shah Alam, Selangor. It's currently valued at RM772,000, according to the Muda leader.

He also declared his two cats Toby and Meow Meow as part of his valuable assets, although he listed their value as "invaluable".

Speaking to the media, he explained that the cats were part of the declaration he had made with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) when he was part of the Pakatan Harapan administration.

"When we were serving in Cabinet, we were asked to declare any gifts whose value would be above RM500.

"I got my cats in 2018, so I had to declare them as well as they were gifts from my brother and a friend," he said.

Syed Saddiq joins other Pakatan Harapan candidates that have provided detailed breakdowns of their wealth and income as a way to promote transparency and signal the coalition's seriousness in fighting graft.

Muda is not a component member but its president Syed Saddiq had suggested the party shares similar ideals, especially in pushing for clean governance and battling corruption. Syed Saddiq had stumped for the coalition during its campaign trail recently.

PH leaders have challenged rival candidates from Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional to declare their assets publicly, but none have responded to date.

In response, PN elections director Datuk Seri Azmin Ali suggested that PH leaders were merely engaging "theatrics" in defence of his coalition allies who refused to make their wealth public.