An opposition member of parliament today lodged a police report against an Umno branch leader for misusing public funds in relation to the 'illegal' construction of a hall in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.

DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok urged the police to investigate a statement made by the Bandar Tun Razak Umno branch leader, Amil Salleh, which appeared in The Malay Mail yesterday.

Amil was quoted as saying that the prime minister's department had allocated RM68,000 for the construction of the multipurpose hall within the compound of the Sri Endah flats.

The branch leader added that all the necessary approvals to build the hall was made by the Prime Minister's Department and that the land belonged to City Hall.

In her report, Kok - whose constituency includes Sri Petaling - stated that she was surprised why the branch was given the allocation since it was part of a political party and not a government agency.

She also claimed that the construction was illegal because the branch did not have the permission of the developer or City Hall.

"This is not only a violation of the law but also an abuse of power and a misuse of public funds," said Kok in her report which was lodged at the Petaling police station.

No notice

Last Friday, malaysiakini reported that residents of the low-cost flats were rudely shocked when contractors started digging behind their residence.

The residents claimed that they were not given any notice about the construction on their 'children's playground'.

An elderly resident said that she had been verbally harassed by a contractor who told her "to go back to China", when she had enquired about the construction.

The residents lodged a report with the Brickfields district police headquarters here yesterday.

While PJD Management Services which manages the seven blocks of flats told malaysiakini that the company had not given any approval for the construction.

The company had also lodged a police report over the matter.