Missing RM24.8m from Kesedar: Culprit misused 9 other IDs - Zahid

The individual arrested for allegedly embezzling RM24.8 million from the South Kelantan Development Authority (Kesedar) purportedly misused the identification of nine other employees to transfer the money out.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi revealed that the assistant accountant had done this “cunning act” over the course of eight years.

“The steps I took after I came to this ministry were not only based on the audit reports, but nine individuals in Kesedar had their identification used by the (assistant accountant) to embezzle almost RM25 million (over) a long period of time.

“I think this is a cunning act done by the relevant assistant accountant,” said Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister.

He said this in a press conference after launching the anti-sexual harassment advocacy roadshow at the Doubletree Hotel in Putrajaya today.

Zahid said he would never compromise in this matter because it involves taxpayers’ money.

“The taxpayers’ money that should have been used for the settlers was instead used by the individual for his own benefit,” he said.

The ministry’s secretary-general has been instructed to take legal action immediately, he added.

On Saturday, the police arrested a 37-year-old suspect who worked as an assistant accountant for Kesedar on suspicion of misappropriating over RM24.8 million from the body.

Early investigations revealed that the suspect had made 194 transactions since December 2016 from Kesedar accounts to the accounts of a company belonging to himself.

Telegram issue

On a separate matter, Zahid said he agreed with Communications and Multimedia Minister Fahmi Fadzil about taking action against messaging platform Telegram for not cooperating with the government.

Fahmi previously said the ministry had summoned Telegram over abuses of the platform to spread pornography, extremism, and scam activities, among others.

As Telegram had not cooperated with the government, Fahmi said the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), as the regulatory body, will propose the next course of action to be taken against the platform.

In response, Telegram said it has not cooperated with the Communications and Digital Ministry as it refuses to participate in “any form of political censorships”.

Zahid said even though Telegram was not as widely used as some other platforms, the negative effects of the abuses still exist.

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