| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This paper assesses the patterns of financing of political parties and elections in Malaysia. The poor regulation of the activities of parties and of all forms of political elections has contributed to allegations of covert funding of politicians, from both Malaysian and foreign sources. Since parties have grossly unequal access to funds, this has led to unfairness in federal and state elections. This paper also deals with two fundamental issues in the financing of politics. First, Malaysia is one of very few countries where parties own corporate enterprises, a trend known as 'political business'. Second, money-based factionalism, known as 'money politics', is threatening the existence of parties and undermining public confidence in government leaders. Party factionalism is based not on ideological differences but on which political leader has the greatest capacity to distribute funds to capture grassroots-level support. Two core issues contribute to the extensive monetization of politics. First, existing disclosure requirements do not adequately restrict the covert funding of politics or ensure electoral fair play. Second, public institutions that oversee electoral competition are not sufficiently autonomous to act without favour. Finally, this paper reviews the levels of transparency built into current legislation, the pattern of financing of parties and electoral campaigns, and the relevant regulatory bodies' institutional capacity to ensure fairness and accountability during elections. The paper proposes legislative and institutional reforms to ensure electoral fairness, within and between parties.
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