TI Malaysia has embarked on a project on political financing, called Crinis.

Transparency International Malaysia (TI Malaysia) is undertaking a research project that will culminate in mechanisms to promote transparency and accountability in the financing of political parties. This project is based on the Crinis Project, undertaken in Latin America, by Transparency International and The Carter Center.

‘Crinis’ means ‘ray of light’ in Latin. This project is being replicated in Asia, with modifications to accommodate the specificities of this region, though the current focus will be on Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia. TI Malaysia recognises that the need for political parties to secure funds to run an efficient organisational machinery and electoral campaigns are a necessary element of a functioning democracy, provided such financing is transparent, involves full public disclosure and is subject to appropriate governmental and social oversight. The Crinis-Malaysia project will help increase public trust in political parties, specifically by enhancing transparency in electoral campaign financing. TI hopes the recommendations from this project will address the concerns of many Malaysians about the phenomenon of ‘money politics’, involving the abuse of funds during party and general elections. The practice of money politics has contributed to serious allegations of corruption. It is also well evident that the capacity of a moneyed elite to influence party and general elections can contribute to the introduction and implementation of public policies that do not serve the national interest. The Crinis-Malaysia project will involve the following activities: conducting research into the financing of political parties; recommending reforms based on a diagnosis of the employment of money in all election campaigns; creating an index that allows for a thorough evaluation of the financing of parties as well as comparisons of this practice between countries; and developing and consistently running awareness-raising activities to promote transparency in political financing by working with parties, electoral authorities, corporate donors, voters and other key national and international stakeholders in this area.

OBJECTIVES

The Crinis–Malaysia project has two main objectives. The first is to identify the weaknesses of the present system of party and campaign funding. The second is, based on research into political financing, to advocate reforms that should be introduced to increase transparency in this process. TI Malaysia believes that regulations pertaining to the funding of political parties are extremely deficient while the role of money in politics poses a serious threat to the principle of free and fair elections. The practice of money politics also allows those who hold economic power to enjoy greater political influence and encourages corrupt links among donors and elected representatives. TI Malaysia, therefore, calls on all relevant parties to support this project to ensure fairness in the conduct of political elections.

Implementing Crinis-Malaysia

TI Malaysia will embark immediately on intensive research covering political financing in Malaysia, with specific focus on the following: evaluating actual local and foreign financing of political parties; reviewing existing legislation in order to rectify institutional weaknesses; assessing effectiveness of oversight mechanisms of party and general election expenses; identifying the extent of disclosure and accountability of politicians in all political campaigns they are involved in; and obtaining detailed information on indicators to be included in a quantitative index which can be used to assess financing of party and election campaigns.

IMPROVING ACCOUNTABILITY

The purpose of this Crinis-Malaysia initiative is not to criticise governance of political parties but to enhance accountability and transparency in the funding of electoral processes. This project is in line with TI Malaysia’s concurrent efforts to stamp out corruption and address the issue of democratic governance in Malaysia. In order to formulate a viable mechanism to eradicate money politics, TI Malaysia requires honest and forthcoming information from the relevant institutions. For example, the information to be obtained from political parties will involve their submission of reports on income and expenses; the rules and procedures about the release of such information to the public; and the pattern of financing of internal party elections at all levels – branch, division and general assembly. It is imperative that corporate donors provide TI Malaysia feedback on how they fund political parties. The relevant government institutions that monitor elections and NGOs will be consulted to secure feedback on institutional reforms and new legislations that can improve fairness in election campaigns. To obtain the data required to understand the institutional and legislative reforms that are required, TI Malaysia will be issuing questionnaires to the relevant parties. After these questionnaires have been analysed, interviews will be conducted with politicians, bureaucrats, business people, academics, journalists and NGO activists. TI Malaysia seeks co-operation and support from the people we approach for information required to successfully complete this project. We hope to complete the Crinis-Malaysia project by July 2009. The preliminary results of the project will be released to the media. Public feedback to the findings will be considered before the report is submitted to the government and TI Malaysia commences the advocacy component of this project. TI Malaysia hopes that the results of the Crinis-Malaysia project will contribute to a more transparent electoral system that will support our endeavour to ensure a vibrant democratic political landscape.

Transparency International Malaysia is an independent, non-govermental and non-partisan organisation committed to the fight against corruption. TI Malaysia is registered with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) Malaysia and is the accredited National Chapter of the Berlin-based Transparency International.

Dear all,

Happy New Year to everyone. May 2009 bring out the best in all of us.