Kulasegaran told the Dewan Rakyat that other proposals include public funding for political parties, caps on political donations, and restrictions on eligible donors.
He said the proposals were submitted to the legal affairs division under the Prime Minister’s Department following 20 stakeholder engagement sessions involving representatives from the government, business chambers, civil society organisations, NGOs, and academia, according to The Edge Malaysia.
“Twelve were state-level engagement sessions, involving a total of 1,544 participants, comprising government officials, political party representatives, village development and security committee members, chambers of commerce representatives, as well as academics and youths.
“The findings from these engagement sessions will be consolidated to form the parameters of the bill.”
He added that the government is also awaiting the results of a public perception study conducted by researchers from the International Islamic University Malaysia before finalising the bill.
Kulasegaran said the study, which also involves representatives from NGOs, began on Sept 1 last year and is expected to conclude on Feb 28.
He was responding to a question from Suhaizan Kaiat (PH-Pulai) on the status of the draft for the legislation.
In response to calls from an opposition MP for the government to ensure the law is implemented fairly, Kulasegaran said those in the opposition had a “golden opportunity” to draft the law when they were in government.
Earlier, Che Zulkifly Jusoh (PN-Besut) said the government should not accept donations from any contractor actively awarded projects to avoid the practice of “buying influence”.
He also raised concerns over funds from foreign organisations, such as the US-based National Endowment for Democracy, an NGO alleged to have previously donated to certain parties.
An earlier version of the bill released in 2022 proposed several restrictions, including a ban on foreign donations, except for purposes related to training, skills, or policy development.
Last January, Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan called on the government to immediately bring the political financing bill to a parliamentary committee for tabling in the Dewan Rakyat, noting that the issue had been discussed several times over the past 10 years.
However, in March, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said it would be difficult for the bill to be passed before the next general election, noting that more feedback was still needed.