Witnesses in Aman Palestin graft probe yet to be called, says MACC

PUTRAJAYA: Graft investigators have yet to call witnesses with regards to investigation into Aman Palestin Berhad (Aman Palestin) as forensic officers are still looking through documents obtained from the organisation, says Tan Sri Azam Baki.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner said a large number of documents, including bank reports, were obtained from Aman Palestin and his officers need some time to look through the books.

“Our forensic officers are looking into the details of the reports especially from 2020 to 2022,” he said after attending the Communications and Digital Ministry’s Integrity Day on Tuesday (Nov 7).

He said that witnesses would be called after officers had looked through a large portion of the documents.

Azam also said that so far, the MACC is only investigating Aman Palestin.

The MACC had initiated a probe into the non-governmental organisation in October, following a report by a news portal that many stakeholders were dissatisfied with Aman Palestin’s approach to overseeing donation collections.

According to reports, Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, through a letter dated Aug 24 had instructed the Perlis State Islamic Religious Department not to permit the collection of funds by Aman Palestin in places of worship within the state.

He had expressed reservations about Aman Palestin’s collection and distribution of funds, calling for more transparency on the matter.

Subsequently, the state religious authority suspended fund collections by Aman Palestin in Perlis pending the completion of a probe.

Aman Palestin had said that it pledged to extend full cooperation to the MACC over a probe into alleged irregularities over its fundraising activities.

On another matter, Azam said that MACC’s investigation into alleged misappropriation of Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra) funds had been closed.

He said those found to have been involved in the scandal had already been brought to face charges.

“During our investigation, we have found several weaknesses in Mitra’s procedures. The MACC has presented recommendations and advice to improve its procedures,” he added.

Mitra is a special government unit set up to address the socio-economic development of the Indian community, especially the B40 group.

Mitra had approved grant allocations totalling around RM203mil from 2019 to 2021 to a total of 337 companies, associations and NGOs.