PKR Sri Muda assemblyperson Shuhami Shafiei today claimed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had cleared him of the graft allegations from 2010 which is being given repeat airtime by exiled blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

“I told MACC everything when they investigated the matter in July 2010. The investigating officer personally informed me that the allegations are untrue and do not involve abuse of power,” he said at a press conference today.

NONE Speaking at the PKR headquarters in Tropicana, Selangor, Suhaimi ( second from left ) said the claimed telephone conversation transcript allegedly between him and the owner of one company Double Dignity (M) Sdn Bhd was also shown to him during the probe.

“I was shown this when questioned by the MACC. (I) did not deny having a telephone conversation with my business partner, but I believe the (transcript) has been amended to make the plot more interesting for Raja Petra’s spin,” he said.

In the transcript posted on the blog Malaysia Today yesterday, Shuhaimi had allegedly demanded RM50,000 from the owner of Double Dignity purportedly for election expenses.

Raja Petra accuses Shuhaimi of using his position to influence the outcome of a sand mining contract vied for by Double Dignity, where the politician is on the board of directors.

Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd, a Selangor government subsidiary which handles all sand mining contracts, yesterday issued a statement saying that Double Dignity had never applied for a contract with them.

According to Shuhaimi, the MACC had never called him back after July 2010 and that the matter has been “twisted” to mislead the public.

'RM50,000 was personal loan for friend '

He added that the RM50,000 was not for an election but for a friend who was in need of urgent cash to pay a  building contractor.

He said the friend approached him for help to tide him over until his loan application with a lending agency was approved.

“I had asked approached many people about it... and finally (the owner of Double Dignity) agreed to give the loan,” he said, adding that he acted as a guarantor for the loan.

NONE The matter was handled by Shuhaimi’s aide Azmin Karim ( right ) - and not Gombak MP Azmin Ali as implied by Raja Petra in publishing the alleged transcript - and cheques were paid out to the contractor and another person who had loaned money to Shuhaimi’s friend.

The RM50,000 was paid back in full in June 2010, but Double Dignity’s owner, one Adnan, did not make the appointment set up for him to collect the cheques.

“He said I’ll see you next week... but he didn’t come. After that the MACC came,” he said, adding that all parties involved in the RM50,000 transaction had given statements to the anti-graft body.

Shuhaimi, who to this day is still on the board of Double Dignity, said he was introduced to Adnan through an MP and ran background checks before agreeing to be on the board of the plantation company in June 2009.

Adnan had in September 2009, asked him to recommend another person for the board and he had then roped in Batu Caves assemblyperson Amirudin Shari.

Amirudin later signed a support letter, on the condition that all procedures and regulations are met, for Double Dignity’s application for sand mining. Kumpulan Semesta never received the letter.

“I was not very clear of the nature of (Double Dignity’s) business when I signed the letter, but after consultation with Shuhaimi did discourage the company from applying,” he said.

He said that he received RM5,000 per month director’s allowance from Double Dignity from June to December 2009, while Amiruddin received the same amount from September to December.

Terming Raja Petra’s claims “slander”, Suhaimi also denied ever asking Double Dignity for RM10,000 for Ramadan expenses, but admitted that he and Amirudin attended the company’s Ramadan dinner in their capacity as directors.

The duo has since been fined by the Registrar of Companies (ROC) as Double Dignity did not submit their financial statements.

“I am appealing this as I had in August 2010 resigned from the board through a letter to Double Dignity. I also informed the ROC of this,” Amirudin said.

Asked why he has not resigned earlier from the board, Shuhaimi said he had wanted to wait for a board meeting to be called.

Perak again?

The duo also said that they do not want to speculate on whether they have been set up, although the last time either of them spoke with Adnan was in June 2010.

Amirudin, however, observed that the attempt to  implicate them with graft is reminiscent of the charges made against former Pakatan representatives in Perak which led to the Perak coup.

“We challenge BN and Raja Petra to prove that we are corrupt by listing the contracts won, either in logging, sand mining or land matters, due to our influence.

“Show the areas in where an inducement and payment was made to prove this alleged abuse of power,” Suhaimi said. 

PKR rep: MACC already probed me on sand issue