DAP calls on Government to introduce a new election law in next month’s Parliament to require all Parliamentary and State Assembly candidates to publicly declare their assets as a condition for standing in elections

by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Taniong, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Monday, September 19, 1994:

DAP calls on Government to introduce a new election law in next month’s Parliament to require all Parliamentary and State Assembly candidates to publicly declare their assets as a condition for standing in elections.

The Minister for Law, Datuk Syed Hamid Albar said yesterday that UMNO politicians should emulate judges and declare their assets to avoid baseless accusations.

The example of the judges declaring their assets is not a good one, firstly, because of the controversy over the assets of the Chief Justice of the Federal Court Tun Hamid Omar, himself and secondly, because the judges do not have to declare their assets publicly.

If Hamid Albar is serious about, his proposal that UMNO politicians should declare their assets to avoid the Raliim Tamby Cik scandals, particularly over his extraordinary wealth and assets accummulated over the years he became Chief Minister completely disproportionate from his known sources of income, then secret internal declaration of assets is not adequate.

DAP calls on the Law Minister to introduce a Bill to enact a new election law in next month’s Parliament requiring all Parliamentary and State Assembly candidates to publicly declare their assets as a condition for standing in elections.

In the case of Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Chief Ministers and Mentri-Mentri Besar, they should be required to publicly declare their assets when they assume and relinquish their terms of office or when there is a dissolution of Parliament or State Assembly to hold general elections.

What is the stand of the UMNO Supreme Council on Rahim’s open defiance in re-assuming his office as Malacca Chief Minister although he had earlier agreed to ‘go on leave’ until conclusion of police investigations.

UMNO Secretary-General, Datuk Mohamed Rahmat yesterday called on UMNO leaders found guilty of criminal or moral-related offences and abuses of power to quit the party and warned that, the party would not, protect any leader involved in such activities.

If Mohamed Rahmat is serious about this statement, then what is the stand of the UMNO Supreme Council on Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Cik’s open defiance of the UMNO leadership in re-assuming his office as Malacca Chief Minister although he had earlier agreed to ‘go on leave’ until conclusion of police investigations into the allegation of his having an affair with a 15-year-old schoolgirl.

By re-assuming his office as Malacca Chief Minister, and even chairing Malacca State Government meetings, Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Cik has made a complete mockery of UMNO leadership arrangements for him to ‘go on leave’ until completion of police investigations. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the entire UMNO leadership have clearly been ‘taken for a ride’ by Rahim Tamby Cik.

The question everybody is asking is whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed and the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, would allow Rahim Tamby Cik to defy their authority with impunity.

If Rahim can get away with such defiance, by reassigning his office as Malacca Chief Minister while on leave, then the credibility of both Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim would suffer grave damage.