Political Donations and Expenditure Act will not be tabled before GE14 - Paul Low

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan today said the proposed Political Donations and Expenditure Act (PDEA) will not be tabled in Parliament before the 14th general elections.

He said the technical committee on the matter was in the process of formulating the new act.

"This is not a simple act. It's a completely new act and looking to be a good act, it takes time. A good point about it is we have consulted with the public and political parties on this," he said.

He disclosed this to reporters during a press briefing on The Regional Conference on Democracy in Southeast Asia, organised by The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and the Kofi Annan Foundation here, Saturday.

The two-day conference was launched by former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono while former Foreign Minister of Thailand Surin Pitsuwan will close the conference today.

Also present was Suhakam Chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail.

The conference is being attended by representatives from governments, political parties, civil society organisations, academia and the media.

Participating countries are Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Timor Leste, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia.

At the conference, six panels will discuss issues such as development and democratisation, the relationship between economic growth and democratisation, election management bodies as a means of building trust and legitimacy in the political process, financing elections without undermining legitimacy, securing elections, pluralism and identity politics in democracies, and the role of civil society organisations in ensuring respect for political rights.

-- BERNAMA