Stern action will be taken against the two high-ranking Tourism Malaysia (TM) officers allegedly involved in the ‘Korean scandal’ if they are found to be guilty.

Last week, Malaysiakini reported that TM Seoul office director Abdul Mutalib Awang and TM North Asian regional director Ramzi Abu Yazid allegedly pocketed large sums of money under the pretext of promoting the country as a holiday destination in South Korea.

Commenting on this today, TM director-general Mirza Mohd Taiyab vowed that action will be taken if the duo are found to be guilty of any wrongdoing.

According to sources, Abdul Mutalib and Ramzi allegedly raked in about RM850,000 for the production of a promotional video on Malaysia.

Sources also provided Malaysiakini with documents to substantiate the allegation.

Probe in progress

“Investigations (into the alleged scandal) are in progress. Officers who are found to be negligent will be dealt with accordingly,” said Mirza in a statement to Malaysiakini .

To avoid the recurrence of such cases, the director-general said the process of studying all proposed promotional activities will be doubled.

“(Besides that) all internal control measures are constantly monitoring (TM) offices worldwide to ensure that all promotional activities and programmes are implemented according to the stipulated government procedures,” he added.

Mirza’s comments come a day after Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor revealed that his ministry has launched an internal probe into the alleged scandal.

Although the sources had implicated the minister in the scandal, Tengku Adnan denied any involvement.

Abdul Mutalib, who is in Seoul, could not be reached for comment while Ramzi has opted to remain tightlipped on the matter.

The ‘scam’

According to sources, Ramzi early last year suggested that the South Korean TM office produce a video recording of tourist attractions in Malaysia to be used for promotional purposes.

Mutalib agreed and subsequently announced that a tender would be opened for bidding. This was later awarded to South Korean-based Sekyung Communications Co Ltd.

Payment was made via bank transfer after Mutalib gave the approval. It was alleged that Ramzi and another Malaysian-based graphic designer would pick up the money and transfer it to a bank in Malaysia.

Sources alleged that Sekyung is a bogus company set up by Mutalib through several of his Korean friends.

A check with the Korean Tax Office, a public body that has information on all registered South Korean companies, showed that the company existed merely in name.

The Tourism Ministry had queried discrepancies in documents related to the transaction as well as the “exorbitant” cost, in a letter dated Aug 5 last year.

However, sources said that no action has been taken against the duo and that Ramzi was even promoted.