Chong: Emulate federal counterparts on asset declaration
KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan ( PH) Sarawak is calling on the Sarawak government under the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to emulate their federal counterparts’ policy of requiring ministers and government officials to declare their assets.
Its chairman Chong Chieng Jen said the act of declaring assets by ministers and government officials should pave the way for cleaner and more transparent governance.
“This ( declaration of assets) is one of the promises on our election manifesto. I would like to call upon BN ( Barisan Nasional) Sarawak to emulate this policy,” he said in a press conference here yesterday.
Chong, who is Stampin MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman, said since Abang Johari had made it public that BN Sarawak would support and be friendly to the PH federal government, the chief minister should honour his words by following suit with the declaration of assets.
“The policy of declaring assets is for accountability, good governance and transparency.”
When informed that BN Sarawak cabinet members have declared their assets to the chief minister, Chong said: “Declaring to the chief minister alone is not enough. They must also declare to a committee.”
According to him, the PH federal government requires ministers, deputy ministers, political secretaries and governmental officials to declare their assets to not just Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, but also to the Governance, Integrity and Anti- Corruption Centre (GIACC).
The GIACC is headed by Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, who is former Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission ( MACC) chief commissioner.
Chong said Abang Johari should embrace good practices and policies that are good for the development of Sarawak.
On whether he had come across any permanent secretaries in Sarawak who are holding high positions in government-linked corporations (GLCs), Chong said: “At the moment, I don’t have the information.”
Asked further if the chief minister should limit the number of positions in GLCs that a leader can hold, he said: “One step at a time. We shall see how the Sarawak government is practising its policy.”
Last Friday, Dr Mahathir announced that cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, political secretaries and government officials must declare their assets to him.
He said agencies entrusted with corruption prevention would be privy to all the information to ensure “the prime minister cannot conceal corruption committed by officers or administrators”.