Digest on Malaysian News

Here a summary of the Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) scandal over alleged mismanagement of fund.
* MIED is an education arm of MIC.
* Samy Vellu is the MIED chairman.
* MIED chief executive officer P. Chitrakala Vasu to go on leave.
* Missing amount totaled to RM5.265mil at MIED.
* Mismanagement of awarding of construction contracts for AIMST.
* Tan Sri M. Mahalingam, a signatory of MIED cheques, was removed as MIC treasurer-general last December.




From TheStar

A MIED top official linked to funds mismanagement
By FLORENCE A. SAMY

PETALING JAYA: The Maju Institute of Educational Development controversy has taken another twist with the MIC president pointing fingers at a top MIED personnel for the alleged mismanagement of funds amounting to millions of ringgit.

Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu claimed that they had identified the person as the one allegedly responsible for the missing RM5.26mil He also hinted that more discrepancies would be revealed.

“The police are investigating the case. MIED has made a report to the police over two people. The first stage of the missing amount is RM5.265mil.

“We investigated and identified that the money was taken under different disguise and put into someone else’s account. We have to report this to the police.

“We cannot keep quiet and allow things to happen. We are still investigating and there are more and more coming,” he told reporters on Sunday at the MIC-owned MIED’s UPSR excellent achievement awards ceremony here yesterday. MIED is MIC’s education arm.

Controversy had plagued MIED over the alleged mismanagement.

On Saturday, it was reported that the Commercial Crimes Investigation Department was investigating two senior MIED executives for alleged criminal breach of trust.

Samy Vellu said Sunday that many had an incorrect perception that MIED was being investigated.

“MIED is not being investigated. We have reported to the police and have asked them to investigate,” he added.

On being queried by the police recently, Samy Vellu said the police came to see him given his capacity as the MIED chairman.

“Naturally, police came to see me as I am the head of MIED.

They wanted to find out what had happened - who is the chief executive officer, how did we employ her, what are her responsibilities - all this I have to answer,” he added.

Samy Vellu also chided the media for reporting that the construction cost of party-owned Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) had ballooned, which he said was untrue.

He explained that there were four stages of construction, with the first stage costing RM235mil. The cost at the final stage, he said, stood at RM485mil. AIMST university, which is in Kedah, was officially opened last year. MIED runs AIMST through MIED Capital Sdn Bhd.

A furious Samy Vellu challenged the media to look into their account books, stating that “every cent is accounted for.”

“There is a project manager and a quantity surveyor to oversee the thing. We do not call for tender; the quantity surveyor calls for tender.

“The newspapers should have more responsibility. They should ask us,” he said, adding that they were planning to take legal action against a news agency which first stated that the cost had ballooned.

Samy Vellu said that it was impossible to build a university for RM265mil as “even the government university cost’s RM1bil.”

When the controversy broke out, Samy Vellu had asked MIED chief executive officer P. Chitrakala Vasu to go on leave. He also issued her with several show-cause letters which she had replied to.

Last week, a former MIC member lodged a police report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, alleging that he had evidence of alleged mismanagement in the awarding of construction contracts for AIMST.

Last month, MIC vice-president and MIED director Datuk Seri S. Sothinathan had lodged police reports over missing MIED files.

Last December, Tan Sri M. Mahalingam, a signatory of MIED cheques, was removed as MIC treasurer-general by Samy Vellu who said the move was part of an MIC rebranding exercise.

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