Dr Yii: Declaration of assets being extended to opposition a good move

0

Dr Kelvin Yii

KUCHING: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii welcomed the proposal announced by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to make the declaration of assets as one of the key performance indicators (KPIs) of ministers and also Member of Parliaments (MPs).

Dr Yii, who is also Sarawak DAP Youth secretary, said he was glad that the proposal would also be extended to those in the opposition bench.

Since the change of government May 9 2018, the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government has introduced multiple anti-corruption policies and initiatives to better promote transparency and to stamp out the cancer of corruption that has crippled the country, he said.

This was further enforced through the launching of a five-year National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) which includes asset declarations, he added.

Since last year, all PH Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs) have declared their assets, including those of their spouses and family members.

All of this information is available online and open to public scrutiny, he pointed out.

“This is initiative is important and needed even here in Sarawak and I do hope all MPs in Sarawak including those from GPS and the opposition will follow suit,” Dr Yii said.

“The fact of the matter is, Chief Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg should also adopt this policy at the state government level and make all state ministers and ADUNs (state lawmakers) declare their assets and do so in the spirit of transparency and accountability,” he said.

“While there often allegations of state ministers and leaders living lavish lifestyles beyond their means, an adoption of this policy in the tate will further help restore public confidence in the government, even on the state level,” he said.

“This, among many other needed anti-corruption measures, is important especially with the increase of development budget by the state government this year and also upcoming allocations from the federal government.”

It is important to make sure that all these public funds benefit the people and not just those in power, he added.

“The aim of the declaration of assets is to prevent corruption. It is also to increase transparency and the trust of the public administration, to prevent conflicts of interest, illicit enrichment and false accusation of their wealth and to monitor wealth of politicians and public servants.

“This is a valid demand because they hold power over allocation of resources and their salaries are paid through taxes,” he said.

Dr Yii also added that an asset-profiling system should be introduced to determine how many assets personnel are expected to have based on their positions, years of service, and their present and past emoluments.