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Mara scam – 'Suspend Annuar Musa too'
Published:  Jul 4, 2015 11:58 AM
Updated: 8:39 AM

Two of Mara's top executives in its investment arm may have been suspended over an alleged property scam but more heads must roll, demanded DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang.

He said this in reference to Mara's announcement on Thursday that Mara Inc chairperson Mohammad Lan Allani and Mara Inc CEO Abdul Halim Abdul Rahim were suspended pending an official investigation.

Lim questioned the timing of the late suspension, pointing out that Mara chairperson Annuar Musa was already briefed about the properties involved in the scam in May last year.

"Annuar, who visited Melbourne in May last year to be briefed about the Mara Inc purchase of the four Melbourne properties, was remiss and negligent in his duties as Mara chairperson in not taking immediate corrective action to stop the hanky-panky in the Mara Inc property purchase corruption scandal," said Lim.

As such, Lim, who is Gelang Patah MP, said Annuar too should be suspended.

"More heads in Mara, including that of Annuar Musa, should roll as the Mara Inc property corruption scandal probably cost Mara over RM100 million or more than 10 times the total sum and magnitude as initially exposed by The Age ," he said.

Annuar had, in a press conference on Thursday, insisted that he had taken remedial action after his visit but did not reveal what they were.

Last week,  Australian-based newspaper The Age reported that Mara, a government agency, purchased an apartment block dubbed 'The Dudley' in Melbourne at an inflated price, the excess of which was channelled back to Mara officials as kickbacks.

It reported that Mara spent A$22.5 million (RM65 million) in public funds to purchase The Dudley in Melbourne. The purchase, which among others involved a former politician, was overpriced by A$4.75 million (RM13.7 million).

Repay public coffers

The news report said the extra RM13.7 million paid was laundered out of Australia and paid as bribes to the Malaysian officials responsible for the purchase.

A similar modus operandi was believed to have been used for three other properties in Melbourne, located at 746 Swanston Street, 51 Queen Street and 333 Exhibition Street.

"Mara's Dudley House buy was not the only scam as the other three Melbourne properties bought by Mara Inc were probably even bigger scams, with 333 Exhibition Street ( photo ) bought for A$31 million (RM99.2 million) involving a price mark-up of A$9 million (RM33 million); 51 Queen Street bought for A$22 million (RM70.4 million) with a mark-up of A$5.35 million (RM18 million) and 745, Swanston Street for A$41.8 million (RM138.6 million) with a mark-up of A$18.3 million (RM62.9 million)," he said.

Lim said even though the Mara scandal pales in comparison to another scandal that emerged yesterday where the Wall Street Journal reported that almost US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) of 1MDB's funds was deposited into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's private accounts, it should not get any less attention.

"Just like the 1MDB scandal, Malaysians are entitled to demand that full attention is given by all the relevant authorities to bring to book the culprits responsible for the Mara property corruption scandal.

"The handful who pocketed some RM100 million in the four Mara Melbourne purchases should be made to cough out the full amount back to public coffers, whether Mara or the public treasury," he said.

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