After PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli agreed to disclose his assets, Cheras Umno leader Syed Ali Alhabshee said he has no qualms doing the same.

 

“I have no problem. I have nothing to hide,” the former senator told Malaysiakini .

 

Syed Ali, who made the initial challenge to opposition politicians after they questioned the wealth of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, said he has been living within his means.

 

“Some may be afraid to disclose their wealth but I am not. I have no properties abroad, private jets or things like that,” he added.

 

Asked how he would declare his assets, Syed Ali reiterated that an independent mechanism should be set up.

 

Rafizi, on the other hand, said he would nevertheless deliver on his promise by disclosing details of his assets, income and expenditure before and after becoming a politician next Tuesday.

The Pandan lawmaker added that he would divulge the details at the Parliament lobby and hoped that all elected representatives, be they Pakatan Rakyat or BN, would do the same.

 

Rafizi also upped the ante by asking Syed Ali to initiate a campaign in Umno to get ministers to reveal their assets.

 

However, while he was more than willing to bare all, the Umno leader said he cannot force others to do so.

 

“Rafizi should write to Umno and issue a challenge to them. He should ask them (elected representatives) to reveal their assets,” he retorted.

 

‘Convince all to do so’

 

At the same time, Syed Ali said Rafizi should convince all in Pakatan to follow his lead before issuing a challenge to Umno.


Previously, PAS information chief Mahfuz Omar also expressed willingness to declare his assets but DAP lawmaker Tony Pua, who prompted Syed Ali to issue the challenge, said there was no need for Pakatan leaders who do not hold executive power to do so.

 

Najib’s wealth became a focal point after the Prime Minister’s Office, in a response to an article in the New York Times on his and his family’s lavish expenditure, attributed it to inheritance.

 

This prompted the prime minister’s four younger brothers to issue a rare statement defending their late father Abdul Razak Hussein, the nation’s second prime minister, as a frugal man.

 

Following this, speculation was rife of a rift among the siblings.