No law forbidding foreign or local funding for NGOs: Empower

PETALING JAYA: Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower) reiterated that there is no law that forbids civil society organisations from receiving funds from local or foreign sources.
Empower president Janarthani Arumugam pointed out that the police had raided their office under Section 124C of the Penal Code and had invoked the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), threatening their staff with detention for 48 hours without access to lawyers.
“The police seems to be investigating Bersih’s funding and took various files and financial documents, including Empower’s general ledgers and profits and loss financial reports.
“But we like to stressed that we have submitted annually all documents required by the Registrar of Societies in reporting our yearly activities, including audited financial reports. Furthermore, all funds received are expended based on their stated objectives and activities under their constitution,” she said in a statement.
Hence, Janarthani said Empower condemns, in the strongest terms, the police raids on Empower and the interrogation of their staff without allowing for legal representation.
“Despite that, we like to commend the conduct of our staff, who kept calm and cooperated with the police even with the threats made against them. But we must all remember that they and all of the civil societies should never be put into this situation in the first place,” she added.
Janarthani feared that the raid on Empower would not be the last time Sosma is used against human rights defenders.
"It is quite clear by now that all the assurance made by the government when Sosma was passed were empty promises," she added.