Pkr Mp Fears For Family S Safety After Asset Declaration

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Prior to the 14th General Election, Edmund Santhara Kumar sent his family overseas for fear that he might end up in jail if he was elected Segamat MP while BN remained in power
Santhara's (above) original plan was for his wife and three children to stay abroad for one year
However, 18 months after Pakatan Harapan took power, Santhara and his wife decided it is not safe for their children to return home
He attributed his safety concern to the asset declaration practice pushed by the Pakatan Harapan government and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which started in November 2018 for better accountability and transparency

Santhara was labelled the richest MP with assets totalling RM132.83 million as of March
He only travelled overseas to meet his family occasionally and vice versa. When his children are here, the anxiety-laden father said he could not allow his children out of his sight even if they were only out shopping at a mall
This was unlike before when he would train his eight-year-old to go to the toilet on his own
He claimed his lifestyle had changed ever since as he no longer feels safe eating roti canai by himself
"I have been receiving joint venture investment proposals ranging from RM200 to hundreds of millions on a daily basis," he told Malaysiakini in an interview
He said he would turn down these proposals citing that he no longer does business in Malaysia
Similarly, he also constantly receives requests for donations
"Those days, people were happy when I gave RM1,000 but now when I fork out the same amount from my personal money, they say 'you are stingy'"If my old school friends call me for a cup of coffee, at the end it is always about the money," he said
Santhara lamented that things have gotten ugly after one or two callers went to the extent of threatening to kidnap his children after he turned down their requests
"People have called me at night to ask for money. When I say no, they threaten to kidnap my child. That was six months back," he said
According to Santhara, he did not lodge a police report as his previous complaints have yet to be resolved
He said people do not understand that assets also include properties that were bought a long time ago which have appreciated in value
He thought of resigning but can't do so as this will lead to a by-election
Soon after Harapan came into power, MACC met with lawmakers on asset declaration and they were told that only the asset of administrative lawmakers would be made public, as ordinary MPs could not affect government contracts
"However, it was decided that the assets of all government lawmakers were to be made public," he said
Without naming who, Santhara said other MPs were also worried about their family members and their own safety too
Despite these difficulties and harassment, Santhara insisted that the asset declaration practice must continue, but with some modification
"What is the objective of asset declaration? To stop people from abusing their position to accumulate wealth," he said
As such, he suggested the lawmakers continue to declare all their assets to the government and MACC, but only part of the information - the incremental asset from the day they are elected - should be made public
The government can go for a band scale on asset instead of making public the absolute figure of the asset
He felt this will be safer for lawmakers and their family as well as taking into consideration their need for information protection
He said the proposal can be imposed in the new parliamentary term after GE15
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong was reported as saying the opposition MPs' fear for not declaring was unfounded as there has not been a single case of extortion or kidnapping involving ministers, MPs or their family members
When asked about this, Santhara said: "That is his opinion and he has not put himself in my shoes."Malaysiakini has attempted to call Liew for comment
In July, the Dewan Rakyat passed a motion for all MPs to declare their assets. The deadline for the MPs to do so is Dec 5, which was extended from Oct 1
The MPs can be hauled to face the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee if they fail to comply, and face suspension
Public asset declaration is one of the reforms brought about by the Pakatan Harapan government in a bid to curb corruption among elected representatives and the executive
Before this, only cabinet members declared their assets to the MACC, who in turn shared the information with the prime minister
In the BN era, ministers deflected from publicly declaring their assets citing security reasons such as fearing that their children would be kidnapped. - Mkini

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