EC have no control over political donations

The Election Commission (EC) does not have control over any contributions or donations channelled to political parties.

Its Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz, however, said under existing law, the EC has the authority to request for reports from a candidate's expenses during the official campaign period.

"The expense limit for a parliamentary seat candidate is RM200,000 while the limit for a State Legislative Assembly candidate is RM100,000," he said when contacted by Astro AWANI.

According to Abdul Aziz, the expenses take into account the time or day of the nomination until the official announcement of the polling day.

"The report should be submitted by the candidate within one month the election is gazetted," he said.

Should the report failed to be submitted to the EC and the candidate did not get a pardon from the court, then the candidate cannot run for elections for a period of five years.

Further commenting on the matter, Abdul Aziz said the EC does not have the authority to investigate any allegations of financial malpractices during the campaign.

"The EC does not examine the financial statements, but those with evidence or allegations on bribery, campaign expenses exceeding the limit allowed, the individual should make a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) or the police for further investigation.

"The EC does not have any enforcement personnel to investigate," he explained.

Abdul Aziz said should there be any misconduct, MACC or the police will continue with the legal process in court.

"The results of an election will only be terminated if the accused is found guilty, and sentenced to prison for more than a year," said Abdul Aziz.

Based on the history of past elections, Abdul Aziz said the expenses were within the limit, based on the reports submitted by the candidates.