Azalina: Politicians could face corruption charges without political financing law

Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said expressed concern that without a political financing law in Malaysia, politicians could face corruption charges due to unregulated financial aid.

She highlighted the need for transparency and accountability in political financing to prevent conflicts of interest, abuse of power, and corruption.

Azalina proposed obtaining written confirmation from all political parties in Malaysia about their stance on a political funding law to present to the Cabinet.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — Politicians could easily find themselves facing corruption cases if there is no political financing law in Malaysia to regulate financial aid given to them, Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said today.

Azalina, who is also Umno information chief and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), however made it clear that she was saying this in her personal capacity as an MP and lawyer.

“I, personally think as a lawyer, if there is no Political Financing Act, many politicians will be charged with corruption — easy, simple. People giving aid are considered as corruption because the intention is not explained, receipts are not given, not informed how much aid is to be given.

“That’s why if there is no Act for political financing, I see that there will be many more problems in this country. This is my personal opinion, not as Umno information chief. This is my personal opinion as Pengerang MP,” she said during her speech at a convention here.

Azalina was giving a speech to officiate the Political Financing Convention 2026, which was organised by the PM’s Department’s legal affairs division (BHEUU) together with think-tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the International Islamic University Malaysia.

In her speech as minister, Azalina acknowledged the reality that money is required for politics.

She said the real question would be where these funds come from, how it is received and used, and how far this process is transparent and accountable.

“Without a clear framework, political financing can open the way to conflict of interest, abuse of power, political corruption and undue influence in the decision-making process,” she said.

She added that there is a need to find a balance between transparency and accountability with the need to ensure that there continues to be democratic space and legitimate political participation.

In her speech, Azalina said the current government believes that the era of “government knows best and government knows all” is over, and that it is important to involve the public and stakeholders when drafing a new law.

She spoke of the importance of consulting political parties, as they will be the stakeholders and “users” of the proposed political financing law.

Later during a press conference, Azalina proposed that the BHEUU obtain written confirmation by every single registered political party in Malaysia about their stand on having a political funding law.

Azalina said the political parties could provide their written decision through their secretary-generals on their supreme council’s or highest leadership’s decision.

She added that she could then state how many political parties agree or disagree to having a political financing law when she presents the proposed law to the Cabinet.

“I’m suggesting to BHEUU to get an official response of all the political parties in our country.

“So I’m suggesting as a minister, please get an official reply from political parties because I also want to know which political party agrees and disagrees. Or maybe they have better suggestion, I don’t know,” she said, adding that she would be very surprised if parties that talk about anti-corruption do not agree to such a law.

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拿督斯里阿扎丽娜·奥斯曼·赛义德表示担忧，马来西亚如果没有政治融资法，政治人物可能会因为不受监管的财政援助而面临腐败指控。

她强调政治融资需要透明度和问责制，以防止利益冲突、滥用权力和腐败。

阿扎丽娜提议向马来西亚所有政党征求其对政治资金法的立场，并向内阁提交书面确认。

吉隆坡，9月8日讯——边佳兰国会议员拿督斯里阿扎丽娜·奥斯曼·赛义德今天表示，如果马来西亚没有政治融资法来规范给予政治人物的经济援助，他们很容易面临贪污指控。

阿扎丽娜同时也是巫统新闻主任和首相署（法律及体制改革）部长，但她明确表示，她是以国会议员和律师的个人身份发表这番言论的。

“我个人作为一名律师认为，如果没有《政治筹资法》，许多政治人物都会被指控腐败——这很容易，也很简单。提供援助的人之所以被认为是腐败分子，是因为他们的意图没有解释清楚，没有提供收据，也没有告知援助金额。”

“这就是为什么我认为，如果没有政治献金法，这个国家将会出现更多问题。这是我个人的观点，并非作为巫统新闻主任的观点，而是作为边佳兰国会议员的个人观点。”她在一次大会上发表讲话时说道。

阿扎丽娜发表讲话，为 2026 年政治融资大会揭幕。该大会由首相署法律事务司 (BHEUU) 与智库民主与经济事务研究所 (IDEAS) 和马来西亚国际伊斯兰大学联合举办。

阿扎丽娜在担任部长期间的演讲中承认，政治需要金钱这一现实。

她说，真正的问题是这些资金来自哪里，如何接收和使用，以及这个过程在多大程度上是透明和负责的。

她表示：“如果没有明确的框架，政治融资就可能引发利益冲突、滥用权力、政治腐败以及对决策过程的不正当影响。”

她补充说，需要在透明度和问责制之间找到平衡，同时也要确保继续存在民主空间和合法的政治参与。

阿扎利娜在讲话中表示，现任政府认为“政府最了解一切”的时代已经结束，在制定新法律时，让公众和利益相关者参与其中非常重要。

她谈到与政党协商的重要性，因为他们将是拟议的政治筹资法的利益相关者和“用户”。

后来在新闻发布会上，阿扎丽娜提议，BHEUU 应该获得马来西亚所有注册政党的书面确认，以表明他们对制定政治资金法的立场。

阿扎利娜表示，各政党可以通过其秘书长就其最高委员会或最高领导层的决定提交书面决定。

她补充说，当她向内阁提交拟议的法律时，她可以说明有多少政党同意或不同意制定政治融资法。

“我建议BHEUU向我国所有政党寻求官方回应。

“所以我建议，作为部长，请各政党给出正式答复，因为我也想知道哪些政党同意，哪些政党反对。或许他们有更好的建议，我不知道，”她说道，并补充说，如果那些口口声声说要反腐败的政党不同意这样一部法律，她会感到非常惊讶。

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