Yawas demands C4 withdraw foundation's name from political funding report

 

Yayasan Warisan Anak Selangor (Yawas) chairperson Gan Pei Nei has taken exception to the C4 report entitled 'Foundations and Donations: Political Financing, Corruption and the Pursuit of Power' calling for the corruption watchdog to withdraw its name from the appendix.

In a statement today, Gan (above) said the report gives an unfair and incorrect impression of Yawas (the Selangor Children's Heritage Foundation) by listing the organisation in the appendix in connection with the 1MDB financial scandal as well as several other corruption cases involving Umno/BN politicians.

"In reporting and listing Yawas without further factual review and commentary, this has created a false negative perception towards the management of Yawas.

"This further affects the image of the Selangor state government which has been managing state resources transparently for the welfare of the people of Selangor," said Gan, who served two terms as Rawang assemblyperson from 2008 to 2018.

The crux of the report by C4, which is the acronym for the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism, is to show how charitable foundations have been abused by political figures due to weaknesses in governance and the lack of strict political financing laws.

It also contains a list of selected personalities who have charitable foundations linked to them.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari is one of the 12 people on the list. According to the report, he is linked to four state-owned foundations, one of which is Yawas.

Yawas is described as a foundation incorporated back in 2009 that aims to aid Selangor citizens. No allegations against the foundation were recorded.

Yawas was mentioned once in the 60-page document.

The bulk of the report is dedicated to case studies involving politicians like former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and how they allegedly used such foundations for unscrupulous purposes.

Gan said Yawas' management always ensured that it adhered to corporate governance as set by the law as well as by the Selangor government.

"All Yawas' management procedures are bound by the Memorandum and Articles of Association prescribed by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).

The annual financial statements of Yawas are also audited by external auditors and monitored by the internal audit department of Menteri Besar Incorporated which was a body established to administer assets and investments of the state government, added Gan.

"In fact, the audit conducted by the National Audit Department in 2018 found the management of Yawas to be at a satisfactory level.

"C4's allegations against Yawas are baseless and have tarnished the reputation of government institutions in Selangor.

"As an NGO that supposedly practices the value of transparency, C4 has done something very irresponsible. On the principle of fair reporting, the section concerning Yawas in the C4 report needs to be withdrawn," said Gan. - Mkini