COMMENT | Does asset declaration by candidates make any difference?

COMMENT | I browsed through PKR’s website recently because I was interested in seeing how much in assets their candidates had. It really was more of a kaypoh (busybody) reason rather than anything. As I was looking through everyone’s statutory declaration, it felt like I was googling the net worth of different celebrities.

I wanted to see the lifestyle of the rich and famous - the mansions with how many rooms they were living in, how many Bentleys they had in their garages, and what their chefs cooked for them on a regular basis. I really wanted to watch a TMZ expose video and then gossip with my friends about it.

Instead, a majority of the candidates seemed like normal middle-class people with a decent amount of assets balanced out with a decent amount of loans and commitments. Not much different than me and other people I know. They would have one or two moderately valued houses, a car or two, loans to match, and some savings.

In general, this made me feel like...