20 NGOs probed for allegedly receiving foreign funding - Nur Jazlan

About 20 of 50,000 non-governmental organisations (NGO) registered with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) have been probed since November, for allegedly receiving funds from individuals and organizations abroad.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed expects more NGOs to come under the microscope, since the police have no plans to put a halt to the probe.

"The probe needs to be done to ensure that NGOs do not become a front for certain parties who plan to undermine democracy because many countries in the West and Asia may also have been toppled by outsiders using the NGOs," he told reporters after launching the search for Ikon Muslimah Johor 2016, here Friday.

The NGOs probed includes Bersih, whose chairman Maria Chin Abdullah is believed to have used funds received from Open Society Foundation (OSF) to undermine parliamentary democracy in Malaysia.

News reports said OSF, chaired by George Soros, not only channeled funds to Bersih but also to other local organisations with the aim to influence the result of general elections.

He said although the inflow of foreign funds is the responsibility of Bank Negara, the police must ensure that the funds are not used to undermine democracy.

Yesterday, Nur Jazlan attended a forum with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan in Kuala Lumpur to discuss how best to regulate the funds received from local and international parties.

On the allegation that some NGOs had been victimised by the police during the probe, the deputy minister said the issue did not arise at all.

"If there is victimisation, we will probe the matter. We only probe NGOs that receive the funds and use them for activities other than those stated in their constitutions," he added. --Bernama