A US-Based NGO Reveals That It Has Been Working With PH Leaders For The Last 15 Years
The organisation is funded by the US State Department and the United Nations, among others.
By Jia Vern Tham — 06 Aug 2018, 06:21 PM
International Republican Institute (IRI), a nonprofit and nonpartisan organisation based in the United States, recently revealed its longtime relationship with "many" of the leaders in Pakatan Harapan
In a forum with American think tanks held on 17 July, IRI president Daniel Twining recounted his visit to the Prime Minister's Office after the 14th General Election (GE14).
"I visited (Malaysia) and I was sitting there with many of the new leaders of this new government, many of whom were our partners who we've been working with for 15 years," Daniel said in the forum organised by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The IRI president further alleged that one of the "most senior" leaders in Pakatan Harapan told him that people in the coalition were "ready to give up" on themselves
"One of the most senior of them (Pakatan Harapan leaders) who's now one of the people running the government said to me, 'Gosh, IRI, you never gave up on us even when we were ready to give up on ourselves'," Daniel added in his speech to the forum.
Nonetheless, the IRI president reiterated that Pakatan Harapan's historic GE14 win should be credited to themselves and not the organisation.
Daniel added that Washington has been benefitting from the Pakatan Harapan government since the coalition took office
"Guess what one of the first steps the new government took: it froze Chinese infrastructure investments because it had opened the book and discovered that there was a lot of funny money swishing around what had been this very corrupt, close, unaccountable system," the IRI president said, presumably in reference to recent reviews of mega projects involving Chinese companies.
Daniel's remarks follow trade tensions between the US and China in recent months. Earlier today, 6 August, Bloomberg reported Chinese state media as saying that the country is ready for an "economic fallout" with the US.
According to its website, IRI organises workshops on educating and strengthening democratic processes worldwide
"We encourage democracy in places where it is absent, help democracy become more effective where it is in danger, and share best practices where democracy is flourishing," the website states.
IRI was previously accused of pumping millions of ringgit into Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in 2011. However, the organisation responded in a statement that it does not provide direct funding to any political parties across the world.
"In Malaysia, IRI is assisting both the government (the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration) and the opposition to improve governance, respond to citizen's concerns, and create a more effective and stable democracy," the statement added.