A Royal Commission is an investigation and independent of government, into a matter of

great importance. Royal Commissions is delegated with broad powers to hold public
hearings, call witnesses under oath, and compel evidence. Usually, Royal Commissions
make recommendations to government about what should change. Pertaining to this issue,
Malaysian government must take actions to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI),
without any delay, to scrutinize every detail allegation of extraordinary wealth belonging to
several Malaysian leaders and politicians, which have been exposed in the Pandora Papers.
Malaysia should not lag behind these nations. A thorough investigation of those named in
the Pandora Papers and the earlier Panama Papers and Paradise Papers should be carried
out and the report published. Besides, Royal Commission of Inquiry has the obligation to
investigate the outflow of financial assets from Malaysia secret accounts in tax havens,
which has adverse impacts on our economy. Investigation by agencies is not enough to
address the issue. From my point of view, the RCI must identify the weaknesses in our laws
and institutions which enable illicit money outflows and make recommendations to
strengthen our legal-institutional framework to resolve the problem. According to research,
assets and wealth of Malaysian politicians and leaders that worth billions of ringgits are
involved in illegal activities. From one of the cases, the prostitution industry, which is
linked to human trafficking, is estimated to be worth US$963.8 million, or RM3.68 billion.
In the year 2010, the government has set up the High-Level Multi-Agency Special Task
Force to reduce illicit financial out flows. However, the department failed to carry out its
obligation efficiently in investigating the financial outflow from Malaysia to secret
accounts in tax havens as disclosed in the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers. Therefore,
there is an urge for the government to establish Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate
into the matter deeply. Financial flows seeking secrecy or fleeing corporate taxes seem
likely to be exactly the kind that exacerbate the finance curse, worsening inequality,
increasing vulnerability to crises, and dealing unquantifiable political damage as secrecy-
shrouded capital infiltrates political systems. And as financial capital flows from poorer
countries to rich-world tax havens, labour migration will follow.
The government department must act without any fear to investigate the names involved in
the Pandora Papers to discover and identify whatsoever possible wrongdoing and
corruption that are taking place. Bank Negara Malaysia as a central bank of Malaysia has
the responsibility to set up regulations to make all MPs and assembly persons to declare all
their assets both onshore and offshore. The aim is to turn everything, regarding to assets
and wealth, into transparent. This will enable Bank Negara Malaysia to detect any new
asset or property own by members of parliament, especially those holding high positions in
political parties.

Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission shall also be involved in the investigation to

overcome corruption and money laundering activities kept in offshore accounts. The
recommendation is to establish a central registry for beneficial ownership of companies
registered in Malaysia and those keeping fund in Labuan. This step will enable the
government to have a clear and transparent look over the ownership. There were thousands
of shell companies involving in money laundering and other illegal activities. All the case is
happening due to the lack of a central registry to reveal the true ownership of the company.
Many financial criminals use shell companies to hide money and particulars of
ownership through nominees, which allows corrupt criminals to launder and avoid their
ill-gotten wealth. The use of nominee directors and shareholders will help mask the
beneficial owners of these companies . The action should be taken by Malaysia Anti-
Corruption Commission, otherwise there will be more illegal activities happen in the future
just like Pandora Papers.