This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 23, 2023 - January 29, 2023

Asset declaration by politicians and key public servants is a healthy practice that is good for improving governance and transparency. But the declaration of assets by people holding positions of power is only one spoke in the wheel of governance of public finances.

There are so many other elements that go towards building a public sector that enjoys the confidence and respect of investors and the people.

When politicians and key public servants declare their assets, it signals that an attempt is being made to enhance transparency. It shows the public that they have nothing to hide when it comes to the source of their wealth.

But the declaration of assets alone will not stop the abuse of power, corruption and mishandling of public funds. The slew of corruption cases involving active politicians and top civil servants despite their being required to declare their assets annually is evidence that the act does not help to prevent abuse.

Moreover, there are so many ways to tackle corruption and abuse of power.

Interestingly, asset declaration also does not seem to count when it comes to gaining votes. In the run-up to the 15th general election, candidates from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Muda declared their assets. It ended up being nothing more than fodder for coffee shop talk and political chat sites.

Was the information relevant to voters? Did the disclosure of assets translate into winnable candidates? No, it certainly did not because not all of the PKR and Muda candidates won.

When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim described the asset declaration of ministers in the current form as a farce, he drove home a valid point. There is inadequate substance in the asset declaration exercise to deter those in power from amassing wealth through illegal means.

Primarily, there is no requirement for immediate family members to declare their assets.

Since 2018, during the trials of politicians, instances of their wives and children amassing wealth amounting to millions have been disclosed. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) biggest seizure was in Sabah in 2016 when two officials of the Sabah State Water Department were arrested for having assets worth RM114 million and cold cash of RM53.7 million. The cash was recovered from several places and took some 30 MACC officers 15 hours to count.

The trial of one of the accused in the case is still ongoing and it has been reported that several state ministers who served in the administration prior to 2016 could be called to testify on allegations that they had received money as well. The irony is that the two main figures in the Sabah Watergate scandal are top civil servants and have not been implicated in connection to any politician so far.

At the heart of a meaningful asset declaration exercise is the test of integrity and honesty. For an administration that is so determined to instil good governance, the asset declaration exercise would have been a mere routine procedure and would not create a brouhaha.

In Anwar’s case, he is walking a tightrope.

Within his coalition government, only PKR and Muda have a policy that their candidates must declare their assets before contesting in a general election. DAP and Amanah require their winning candidates to declare their assets. As for Barisan Nasional and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), which are the other major parties in the coalition, only those appointed as ministers need to declare their assets.

Apart from the political parties within the ruling coalition not having a common policy on asset declaration, there are other sticking points. Anwar has a deputy who was freed of corruption charges last year but is still accused of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving a foundation he set up. Last year, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was freed of corruption charges amounting to S$13.6 million (RM42 million) involving Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd, a company that has the mandate to process visas for tourists from China. But Zahid still faces charges of alleged CBT involving donations amounting to millions in relation to payments made to Yayasan Akalbudi.

For years, Malaysian politics has been funded on a patronage system. The close nexus between politics and business that has been built up over years is very much entrenched and hard to dismantle within a short period of time.

Asset declaration by those in power helps to reduce the blatant abuse of power. But it does not prevent corruption and abuse of power because the patronage system facilitates proxies benefiting from their association with persons in power.

In other jurisdictions, the practice of declaring assets is sometimes frowned upon. In developed countries such as the US and the UK, the view is that a person in power is also a citizen and deserves privacy just like any other citizen. His or her assets should not be a focal point when they decide to serve the country. Hence, the option to declare their wealth is left to the political leaders.

In the US, since the early 1970s, all presidents and vice-presidents have opted to make their tax returns public. It is done to improve transparency about their wealth.

As for the UK, only David Cameron and current prime minister Rishi Sunak have opted to disclose their tax returns of late. Cameron decided to do so after the Panama files case broke; he was named as among those holding an offshore account. Sunak decided to disclose his tax returns because a lot of attention was being focused on his wealth rather than his work and policies to bring the UK out of a slowdown.

Sunak has been described as the richest prime minister to assume office. The wealth came from his previous work as an investment banker and his wife, Akshata Murthy, who is the daughter of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy.

Asset declaration certainly helps reduce unwanted attention on Anwar and his administration. But it has to be done with integrity and honesty if it is to have a meaningful effect.

How he enforces a meaningful asset declaration will be interesting to see as it will touch on the unhealthy patronage system that Malaysia is so used to.

M Shanmugam is a contributing editor at The Edge

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