This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 15, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: There should be proper regulations on political funding and official guidelines by Bank Negara Malaysia on cryptocurrency before Harapan Coin can be rolled out, Lembah Pantai member of parliament (MP) Fahmi Fadzil said yesterday.

“I believe we need to make sure that we have proper regulations on political financing in place because the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies may open us up to a number of issues,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

“At the same time I think we need to wait for guidelines from Bank Negara in regard to cryptocurrencies,” he added.

Without the two key sets of regulations, Fahmi said it would be difficult for him to personally agree to the proposal. “I think that is my default position [for now],” he said.

The Harapan Coin, co-founded by Shah Alam MP Khalid Abdul Samad, would reportedly be the world’s first political fundraising platform utilising cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Yesterday, it was reported that Khalid said a paper and presentation on the Harapan Coin have been prepared and will soon be presented to Bank Negara and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Khalid said the cryptocurrency may also be used as payment to government bodies for licences and summonses, among others.

In a Facebook post, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak questioned the purpose of the Harapan Coin.

“It is said that the cryptocurrency can be used for various government transaction[s]. The rakyat has to know 30% of the currency will go to the system developer, 30% to Parti Amanah Negara, and 40% to Pakatan Harapan,” he said, citing a video he found on the distribution of its revenue.

Questioning the agenda behind Harapan Coin, Najib also asked who stands to gain the most from it. “Khalid Samad has to reveal the mastermind of the project. Name each and every one of them,” he said.