A report on the alleged property scam involving Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) is to be filed with the Victoria-based Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (Ibac) by Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4).

C4 founding director Cynthia Gabriel said the watchdog NGO wants Ibac to probe the matter urgently, since the alleged scandal is a cross-border corruption case involving Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia.

“We want the commission to investigate whether Mara is using local Australians to circumvent overseas investment policies in Australia,” Cynthia told Malaysiakini .

“In Malaysia, we also see the utmost urgency for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to launch its probe as the scandal involves public funds, and any delay will compromise the country’s integrity.

“We are glad that MACC has said it will investigate the matter,” she said.

Cynthia said C4 is not satisfied with the explanation given by Mara chairperson Annuar Musa ( photo ) that any investment made by Mara had to be approved by the Finance Ministry or the government-operated Economic Council chaired by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Annuar also said it was part of the procedure that any investment proposal be brought to the Mara Council and then to the Rural and Regional Development Ministry before it goes to the Finance Ministry or the Economic Council for approval.

Najib, who is also finance minister, has urged the authorities to carry out a transparent investigation into the case, but his opponents have demanded that he goes on leave pending the investigation.

'Najib and Annuar must be held accountable'

“Both Najib and the Mara chairperson must be held accountable for this scam.

“We will work with Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia, a Malaysian multi-racial movement that also operates in Melbourne, to get things going with the anti-corruption body in Australia,” she added.

Cynthia’s comment follows C4’s statement on Tuesday that Malaysia has been involved in “ a scandal too many ”, after Australian newspaper The Age reported that Mara officials had used government funds to bid up the price for a Melbourne apartment block.

The daily reported that the price for the Dudley International House apartment block was jacked up from A$17.8 million (RM51.5 million) to A$22.5 million (RM65 million), with the extra A$4.75 million (RM13.7 million) sent back to Malaysia as kickbacks.

Cynthia welcomed the latest report today that the Australian federal police have conducted raids on a house in Vermont South, Melbourne, over the alleged property purchases linked to Malaysian politicians.

According to The Age , the raid is part of ‘Operation Carambola’ that is investigating a scheme allegedly “involving Malaysians using multimillion-dollar Australian properties to launder funds and return ‘kickbacks’ to Asia”.