SUPP supportive of idea to regulate political funding

KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) is supportive of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s move to regulate political funding in an effort to keep corruption at bay.

Its secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting said the previous BN federal government had in fact embarked on introducing a similar law on political funding.

He said the draft on the law on not just political funding but also expenses by various political parties was done by former minister in the prime minister’s department Datuk Paul Low.

Ting, who is Piasau assemblyman, said SUPP had been supportive of such a law, and hence would look forward to the proposed law on political funding by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government being tabled and passed in Parliament.

“The last meeting we had on the subject was called at end of 2016. At that time, representatives of all BN component parties were present. We unanimously agreed to have a law like that. I was among those present at the meeting,” he said when met by reporters at Sarawak Golf Club here yesterday.

Ting said when the previous BN government proposed the law, Democratic Action Party (DAP) objected to it.

He thus hoped that this time the DAP would stand together with them (SUPP) to support the Bill on political funding when it is tabled in Parliament in the near future.

Dr Mahathir said the government would study the system of political funding in other countries to find the best practices in the imlementation of the relevant law.

“In some countries, the government provides funds to political parties. That is done, I think, in Germany. We will study whether that is something that we can do.