A former prime minister and his aides will be called to explain how allocations for promotions and publicity were spent during his administration, says Tan Sri Azam Baki.
“We will be calling him soon. Either this week or next week at the latest,” said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Chief Commissioner.
Azam said this when asked about the development of the investigation into the RM700mil that was spent for this purpose by the two previous Federal governments between 2020 and 2022.
Azam said the former prime minister would be asked on how the allocation was spent.
“We do not have many queries on how the allocation was decided or approved. It is more in relation to how it was spent and the companies which were given the task for the government’s promotion and publicity campaigns,” he added.
He explained that this is a normal procedure when an investigation is being carried out.
The MACC chief commissioner said the companies involved had already been summoned but did not elaborate.
Azam then said that aside from the former prime minister, investigators would also be calling several individuals from his office.
On Jan 2, the MACC confirmed that a probe had been initiated into claims of alleged misuse of RM700mil that was spent for promotions and publicity by the two previous Federal governments between 2020 and 2022.
Source said that MACC officers had gone to the Finance Ministry as well as the Prime Minister’s Department to seek information and to obtain documents in relation to the case.
Last November, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in Parliament that RM700mil had been spent since 2020 to promote the government.
The bulk of the spending was handled by the Prime Minister’s Office for advertisements and media buys to promote government initiatives.
The Prime Minister had said that close to RM500mil was spent by the eighth prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the balance was spent by his successor Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Anwar, however, had pointed out that Ismail Sabri did not spend that much and there was a balance in the funds which his administration had used. ANN
I’m the real target in Kedah FA probe, says Sanusi
The Kedah menteri besar says the investigation was fabricated to create the perception that Kedah is filled with corruption.
Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor says he is the real “target” of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation into a graft case involving the Kedah Football Association.
Sanusi, who is also Kedah FA president, claimed those detained in the corruption case involving RM6 million in 2020 were merely “accessories”, himself being the real target “they” wanted to link with corruption cases.
However, he did not specify who “they” were.
“They’ve been tirelessly searching for my case for months and still can’t find it. What do you want? Do you want the truth, or do you just want to blame someone?
“You’ve found the truth; there’s no case against Sanusi,” he said in a press conference after officiating the Kedah civil servants’ assembly in Dataran Wisma Darul Aman.
He added the case was fabricated to create the perception that Kedah is so corruption-filled that even its football organisations are involved.
Nevertheless, Sanusi said that he was ready to cooperate with MACC if he was called in to help in the investigation.
On Saturday, Kedah FA vice-president Radhi Mat Din confirmed that its CEO, Zulkifli Che Haron, was among four detained in an investigation into a corruption case involving RM6 million in 2020.
The RM6 million was reportedly given as kickbacks to allow a company owner to obtain a tender to build a racetrack, and another project to operate and maintain five water reservoir plants in the state.
In response, Sanusi said on Sunday that he would reveal the “true plot” behind the investigation, and accused MACC of being used for political purposes.
He added today that the four individuals were being portrayed as if they were about to be prosecuted in court, when they were only there to give their statements to aid in the investigation.
Sanusi questioned the reason for the action taken against the four.
“The contribution is not RM6 million. It was only RM5 million. Where did you get the RM6 million from?
“Can you see how deceitful they are? They tried to make the amount look bigger,” Sanusi said. FMT
Written by ANN, FMT
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