Tan Sri Azam Baki was quoted as saying that the MACC has not been able to find conclusive evidence to charge lawmakers accused of taking bribes to switch parties. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has not been able to find conclusive evidence to charge lawmakers accused of taking bribes to switch parties, its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki was quoted as saying.
Azam confirmed the agency had attempted to probe several allegations that these defectors have been paid to switch allegiance but said identifying the money trail has been an uphill battle, news portal Free Malaysia Today reported.
“I do not deny that the MACC has received reports in relation to politicians being offered money to switch parties, but it cannot be proved that money had been paid in any of these cases,” he said.
The MACC chief commissioner has supported calls to enact a political funding Act, saying the country needs a political funding law that can compel parties to be transparent about their funding sources.
Existing election laws make it hard to differentiate between legal and illegal funds, Azam Baki was quoted as saying.
“This is because these funds could have come from illegal sources,” he said.
Calls for more transparency over political donations have received bi-partisan and strong public support.
De facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said last month Putrajaya is expected to table an anti-party hopping bill in the next Dewan Rakyat session.
The upcoming sitting will start on February 28.
The anti-hopping bill was among the 18 proposals in the memorandum of understanding signed between Pakatan Harapan and the federal government last September.