Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to probe claims of nepotism and exorbitant fees paid to directors of firms linked to charitable government-linked foundation Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (Yapeim).
"Such claims must be viewed seriously by the management. I welcome a thorough investigation by the MACC to clear Yapeim's reputation as a charitable Islamic foundation aimed at economic generation," he said in a statement on his Facebook page.
PKR-linked anti-corruption body, the National Oversight and Whistleblowers Center (NOW), exposed invoices showing that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom and his wife shopped and played golf in the US on a trip funded by the foundation.
Although confirming the May 2014 trip, Jamil Khir said it was upon an invitation by agencies under his purview, including Yapeim, to attend various events, including the 'Mid West Game' attended by 1,000 students.
This included a golfing event jointly organised with the Malaysian embassy, he said.
NOW also exposed that an Umno member and her family hold key positions in Yapeim-linked firms and earn about RM2 million a year.
Yapeim said it is ready to be investigated.
According to Asyraf, action must be taken if there are elements of fraud or breach of trust, and improvements must be made on poor management policies.
"The analogy is, if a roof is leaking, fix the roof. Don't demolish the house," he said.
The deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs also explained that Yapeim does not rely on government grants or donations from civil servants.
Instead, it owns 202 branches of Ar-Rahnu, an Islamic finance company which makes RM83 million a year and has joint assets worth RM1.034 billion.
The foundation is also audited yearly by the Auditor-General's Department, he said.
"So to say that Yapeim pays exorbitant allowances to its management using charitable contributions is too much and needs to be proven.
"There is no need to speculate further lest it becomes slander. This is not only a sin, but could also destroy an Islamic institution which has successfully run Ar-Rahnu since 1993," he said.
