A company implicated in the recent “support letter” controversy involving Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s former political secretary, Shamsul Iskandar Akin, has denied ever seeking the project in question.
A spokesperson for Kamal Engineering Sdn Bhd confirmed to Malaysiakini that the information revealed by former economy minister Rafizi Ramli was accurate.
“What Datuk Seri said is correct. Kamal Engineering was not involved,” the spokesperson said briefly when contacted today, declining to comment further.
Rafizi today revealed what he described as a “plot twist” in the case, saying that the firm mentioned in the alleged support letter by Shamsul (above), one of six companies listed for a hospital project, had never submitted a pre-qualification application.
“Here is where the plot twist emerges. I received a message from a representative of one of the companies listed in the support letter. They stated that Kamal Engineering had never been involved in the project’s pre-qualification process, nor had they ever taken part in the project at all.
“Kamal Engineering has lodged police and MCMC reports regarding the misuse of its name in the letter. So the plot twist is this: if Kamal Engineering was not involved in the project, how and who saw it fit to use the company’s name to the extent that it reached the Prime Minister’s Office?
“This constitutes a criminal offence, as it involves using an individual’s or a company’s name without their consent,” Rafizi said.
He added that Kamal Engineering could have been made a scapegoat, with the firm’s name inserted “merely as a dummy” in the support letter, without its knowledge.
The Pandan MP expressed hope that the police would probe those who are responsible for the issue.
Anwar reprimands aide
On Nov 18, Anwar told Parliament that he had reprimanded one of his political secretaries for writing a support letter for six contractors in a hospital project last year.
Responding at the time to PAS MP Fadhli Shaari, he did not specify which of his three political secretaries he had told off. The aide was later revealed to be Shamsul.
The letter, dated May 6, 2024, was addressed to an aide to Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad and asked to consider six contractors for pre-approval in the Muar hospital project.
The letter first leaked on social media last year and was later confirmed as true by Dzulkefly in Parliament.
During a special chambers session on July 9 last year, the health minister, however, stressed that the letter did not mention any order or approval for the six companies to be appointed for the project, and was just for consideration.
“This showed that the Prime Minister’s Office did not interfere in the procurement of Health Ministry projects and other ministries,” Dzulkefly had said.
He added that because the request was for the construction of new hospitals, the Health Ministry neither considered nor approved the application by the contractors mentioned in the political secretary’s letter.
New video clip implicates Anwar
A new video clip linking Anwar to the support letter scandal involving Shamsul was released early this month.
The clip shared on the “Pejuang Tun Dr Mahathir” Facebook page shows a woman, similar to the one in a previous clip and with her face blurred, saying that a support letter was issued for six contractors.
“Actually, as for your information, when Anwar came up for the first and second times, many asked for support letters from him. He did not want to sign. He asked Shamsul to sign it all.
“First and second year. Shamsul. All were signed by Shamsul. Meaning for 2023 till 2024, all were signed by Shamsul on the orders of the boss,” the woman was heard saying.
The woman also alleged that this was conveyed to her by Shamsul himself.
She, however, claimed that the matter was a standard procedure and not out of the ordinary.
Shamsul quits as Anwar’s aide
On Nov 25, Shamsul announced that he resigned as Anwar’s political aide.
In a post on X, he said he was made to understand that there is an attempt to attack him with an issue that could ruin the government’s image.
“Therefore, I have decided to defend myself against this attack,” he added.
The 5.20pm post came in the wake of Malaysiakini contacting him for comment over allegations that he received money from businessperson Albert Tei in relation to the Sabah mining scandal.
On Nov 25, Tei implicated Shamsul in the mining scandal, alleging that he spent RM629,000 on the latter after being purportedly assured that he could recoup the money channelled to politicians in Sabah.
According to Tei, he has compiled a dossier exceeding 300 pages, including screenshots of WhatsApp conversations and receipts, to substantiate his claims against the Malacca PKR chief.
Tei’s allegation came a week after Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat that he had reprimanded Shamsul, as government regulations did not permit the issuance of support letters for contractors involved in a hospital project.
Since last November, Tei has revealed a slew of videos, documents, and WhatsApp screenshots accusing Sabah politicians of accepting bribes in exchange for mineral exploration licences.
Tei and two assemblypersons were subsequently charged.
GRS chairperson and Sabah caretaker chief minister Hajiji Noor has accused Tei of being part of a cartel aiming to monopolise mining in the state.
Tei has been on a warpath to take down politicians he gave money to for mineral exploration licences, which he did not end up getting.
Shamsul and Albert charged
Malacca PKR chief Shamsul pleaded not guilty at the Shah Alam Sessions Court over one charge of receiving bribes totalling RM64,924 from Tei.
Shamsul was accused of taking the bribe in his capacity as the then-political secretary to Anwar, to help Tei secure mining exploration licences in Sabah.
The charge, framed under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act, was read in front of judge Nasir Nordin.
Tei also pleaded not guilty to a charge under Section 17(b) of the MACC Act for allegedly bribing Shamsul.
Both can be punished with up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine not less than five times the amount of bribes involved.
The duo were also slapped with four charges involving corruption at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.