Thanks for showing transactions were legit, says Annuar Musa

Mara chairperson Annuar Musa "thanked" parties who disclosed letters and receipts which showed details of sponsorship from UniKL to the Kelantan football team, The Red Warriors (TRW).

In a series of Facebook postings, the Umno information chief said this is because the documents showed that the transactions were done in a legitimate manner.

"There are letters of offer, negotiations, contracts, and vouchers, as well as receipts. I believe this is not only the case with UniKL, but other sponsors as well. Everything was done according to rules.

"This shows the sponsorship for TRW was done in an open and transparent manner. There are no silent sponsorships," said Annuar, who is also Pro-Chancellor II of the Mara-owned university.

Although Annuar did not mention names, it is believed his postings were directed at Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who yesterday published the said documents in the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page.

Tunku Ismail alleged that the Mara chairperson had used his positions in the federal agency and UniKL to channel funds to the Kelantan football club.

In response, Annuar yesterday said Mara did not spend a single sen to sponsor TRW, and stickers of the institution emblazoned on the sleeves of TRW jerseys were done free of charge in conjunction with Mara's 50th anniversary.

'Nothing to hide'

In his post today, Annuar alleged that numerous other football clubs received sponsorship from questionable sources, but this did not make the news.

"The fact that TRW jerseys are often 'overcrowded' with stickers of sponsors shows that it has 'nothing to hide'," said the former Kelantan Football Association (Kafa) president.

"I, as one of the sponsors, will continue to do so as long as TRW is not owned by an individual and the team gives good commercial returns and branding exposure," he added.In his posting yesterday, Tunku Ismail also criticised Annuar for allegedly capitalising on Mohd Faiz Subri's Fifa Puskas award by reportedly describing the footballer as a mentee during his stint with the Kelantan team when the Umno leader helmed Kafa.

Tunku Ismail and Annuar had been trading jabs of late over football-related issues.

One of their most recent spats saw the prince telling Annuar to mind his own business and not pass remarks about other football teams or clubs.

This after the politician reportedly alleged that JDT (Johor football team) was destroying the local football scene by overpaying its players and using state facilities.- Mkini