IPOH: Only 27 out of the 59 assemblymen in Perak have declared their assets despite a motion compelling all to do so by an Oct 23 deadline.
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In July, the State Assembly had passed a motion compelling all assemblymen to declare their assets with their statutory declaration submitted to the Speaker.
On Friday, Perak Speaker Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (pic) said the deadline for the submission was on Oct 23 but those who had yet to do so could still submit their declaration to him.
“I am not going to shame and name those who have yet to submit their declaration but I hope they will do so by next week.
“The aim for the motion was to ensure that all assemblymen were earning within their means and that there were no elements of corruption, ” he told reporters when announcing the dates of the coming state assembly meeting.
The meeting will begin on Nov 15, which is a Friday, and will continue from Nov 18 to 22.
When the motion was passed in July, the Opposition had said that although they were not against declaring their assets, they disagreed with the motion because the Speaker would have information about their assets.
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The Opposition had then said that they would only hand in their forms to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Speaker.
There are 28 Opposition assemblymen and 31 assemblymen from Pakatan Harapan.
Ngeh said all assemblymen must respect the ruling made at the state assembly or face the consequences.
He said the motion clearly stated that the declarations must be submitted to him and he would then submit the copies to the MACC.
“The part about them wanting to declare their assets to the MACC is a secondary question because firstly, they need to respect the motion.
“Even then, checks with the MACC confirmed that no assemblymen from the state has submitted any declaration to them.
“I will be submitting all the declarations presented to me by next week to the MACC and I hope to see all 59 declarations in my hands, ” he said. -The Star