KUCHING, Nov 7: Criminal fines are meant to hold convicted offenders accountable for their wrongdoing and should not become a burden shifted to political supporters through fundraising campaigns, says Miri MP Chiew Choon Man.
He said UMNO’s announcement that it had raised and paid RM50 million through public donations to settle the criminal fine imposed on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak raised serious concerns over the purpose and effectiveness of criminal punishment.
Chiew stressed that while public donations to political parties might not be expressly prohibited under existing laws, there was a fundamental difference between what was legally permissible and what was right in principle.
