An opposition leader has questioned the actual amount of funds in the MCA-linked Chang Ming Tian Foundation, saying that it should be more than the claimed RM18.7 million.

DAP national publicity secretary Ronnie Liu said based on the principal plus the interest accrued for a savings account over the past 20 years, the amount should be much more than what was stated by MCA.

The foundation's funds were frozen for more than two decades following a financial scandal which rocked MCA in the 1980s and a legal suit filed several years later.

Last Saturday, he lodged a second report with the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters on the matter. His first report was lodged last March.

Liu said past and present MCA presidents owe the public an explanation as to why the foundation's funds stood at only RM18.7 million after being left in the bank untouched for 22 years.

"The amount in the foundation should be more than the figure disclosed by MCA president Ong Ka Ting," he stressed when contacted yesterday.

Controversy-dogged foundation

In 1980, the late philanthropist Chang Ming Tian donated RM10 million to charity and an MCA-linked investment company Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd (MPHB) was tasked to manage the fund.

However, the foundation failed to take off as planned. First there was a leadership struggle in MCA from 1983 to 1985 which prevented things from taking shape.

Then in 1986, Multi-Purpose Cooperative, the largest shareholder in MPHB, was hit by a financial scandal leading to the foundation's funds being frozen as well.

Finally in 1990, the foundation was set-up formally but in the following year, Chang's family sued MPHB to claim back the donation and interest.

Once again, the funds were frozen until MPHB won the case in Nov 18, 2002.

In a joint statement on July 26, the foundation and MPHB said after a series of discussions, MPHB had agreed to donate RM8 million to the foundation, bringing the total funds to RM26 million.

The statement also stated that the foundation would allocate RM3 million to be given out as interest-free loans to deserving university students.

Transparency required

Meanwhile, Liu also questioned the rationale of placing Chang's RM10 million donation in a savings account.

He said if the sum was put in a 12-month fixed deposit, the total today would be around RM50 million.

"It could have even reached the tune of RM70 million if the money was placed with a negotiable banker acceptance over the past 20 years," he added.

He said if the fund was managed well by MCA and based on an annual allocation of RM4,000 per student, it could have benefitted more than 124,566 needy students.

"The late Chang Ming Tian's family and the public have the right to see that the fund is not misappropriated," he added.

Commenting on the issue, New Era College lecturer Phoon Weng Keong said since the foundation is a public body it was therefore necessary for MCA to make public the accounts.

"Transparency is needed so that people would have confidence in MCA to raise donations for its other programmes," he added when contacted.

In his column in the Oriental Daily newspaper last week, the academic had questioned the appropriateness of endorsing reporters into the foundation's selective committee for scholarships.

"If there is any mismanagement, what would the reporters in the committee do? Would they play their role as watchdogs?" he had stated.

The management of the foundation had also been questioned by several others, including MCA Youth chief Ong Tee Keat.