The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) is shocked at yet another revelation, bordering on corruption, involving Malaysian officials, which has surfaced in the Australian media today.
C4 urges the Malaysian government to respond immediately to the report in The Age which alleged several damning details, that Mara, a government institution set up to aid poor Malays, has been implicated in a RM65 million Australian property scam.
Mara chairperson Annuar Musa’s silence on the alleged scandal is not golden, as Malaysians are fast losing their patience with this kind of response from government officials. The report has identified top Malaysian government officials and a former politician who allegedly purchased an apartment block - called the Dudley International House apartment block, in Melbourne, Australia in 2013.
The individuals reportedly overpaid for the property by RM13.7 million to allow for kickbacks back home.
Two mysterious Malaysian businessmen named in the report are Yusof Gani and Ahmad Azizi, both goes by the honorific title of ‘Dato’ and are suspected to be “influencing things behind the scenes, and are powerful back in Malaysia.” Ahmad’s son, Erwan Azizi, allegedly helped facilitate the property deal using his network of contacts in Malaysia related to Mara, which was set up in 1965.
Other names which have popped up in the report, are former politician turned Mara Investment chairperson Mohammad Lan Allani, and a Mara chief executive, Halim Rahman. Mohammad allegedly admitted to the Aussie media he was involved in setting up offshore companies in tax havens as a “convenient” way of selling property bought by the Malaysian government.
Such reports, if they go unanswered or un-refuted, further tarnishes the already deteriorating reputation of the country in the eyes of the world.
C4 reminds that Mara is not a private entity. We urge the Malaysian government to hide no more and be accountable and transparent with Mara’s investment dealings as Mara is a public institution beholden to Malaysians.
Still reeling with shock
The country is still reeling with shock and disbelief, while seeking answers to the RM42 billion in debts involving Prime Minister Najib Razak’s pet project - 1MDB. With his elegant silence, Najib has failed to convince Malaysians, that there is no hanky-panky involved in the dealings of the company, which is wholly owned by the Finance Ministry.
Only five days ago, The Wall Street Journal revealed yet another questionable ‘overpriced’ spending of RM3 billion in the acquisition of 15 power stations for RM18 billion.
Malaysians have yet to forget and are still seeking answers as to whether French company DCNS involved in the sales of two Scorpene submarines by the Malaysian government in 2002, have paid millions in kickbacks to Malaysian officials. The case is still pending in the French courts.
Such complicated money trails indicate a dangerous trend towards suspected money-laundering and illegal financial kickbacks to Malaysian officials for lucrative deals.
The current incidences and reports in the media must perk up the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to launch a probe on related individuals and institutions, without having to wait for instructions to do so.
It’s just one scandal too many, C4 tells Prime Minister Najib.
CYNTHIA GABRIEL is founding director, Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4).
