Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin revealed in Parliament today that five cabinet ministers have yet to declare their assets.
He did not reveal the names of those ministers, who are members of the newly formed National Alliance government, but called on them to make the declaration as soon as possible.
“97% of cabinet ministers have already declared their assets,” Muhyiddin said. “The five remaining cabinet ministers who haven’t done so, please declare your assets as soon as possible.”
All of the cabinet ministers were required to declare their assets from March 11. The Prime Minister, who also represents the Pagoh constituency, had on that day gave the ministers one month to make the declaration. But Muhyiddin today clarified that he had actually given them a three-month window.
“The time frame to declare the assets is not one month, it is three months. I apologize,” he said.
The Prime Minister was responding to Kulai rep and opposition politician Teo Nie Ching after the latter queried about the matter.
“I would like an explanation as to what happened after March 11 because you (Muhyiddin) had set a month deadline for your ministers to declare their assets,” Teo, a member of the Democratic Action Party, was heard as saying.
After which, Muhyiddin said that he misspoke and that the time frame he had in mind was three months and not one. This meant that the ministers should have declared their assets by June. Muhyiddin said he will see that the ministers do as they are told.
“I will pay extra attention to this to expedite the process and ensure it’s completed quickly,” Muhyiddin assured members of parliament.
Asset declaration was made compulsory in 2019 when the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) government was in power as part of measures to counter corruption. All ministers including former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had revealed their assets publicly until the National Alliance government led by Muhyiddin Yassin took over. There is a total of 32 cabinet ministers and 39 deputy ministers.
Members of Parliament are required to declare their monthly income and assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, details of which would be listed publicly on the MyDeclaration portal.
The website said it has been closed for maintenance.
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