Nurul wants Ismail Sabri's head to roll over Mara

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar has urged Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who oversees Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), to resign following the suspension of Mara chairperson Annuar Musa.

“In fact, the minister must be responsible over this scandal and resign over his negligence in fulfilling his duties,” she said in a statement today.

The Lembah Pantai MP said the minister must explain plans for the restructuring of Mara in the upcoming Parliamentary session.

“The minister must answer all questions relating to this scandal in line with Article 43(3) of the Federal Constitution,” she added.

An emergency Mara board meeting yesterday decided to suspend Annuar as Mara chairperson and head of Pelaburan Mara Bhd (PMB) with immediate effect.

The suspension is reportedly to facilitate investigations into allegations that PMB and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), which are Mara's subsidiaries, sponsored the Kelantan football team that Annuar is linked to.

This allegation was first raised by Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim on Jan 12.

Problems with political appointees

Tunku Ismail also revealed several documents detailing the said transactions and questioned if the sponsorship was the reason why UniKL was forced to reduce scholarships for its students by RM700 million last year.

Annuar, who is a former Kelantan Football Association (Kafa) president, however, denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, Nurul also called for a thorough probe into all investments made by PMB under Annuar.

She argued that suspending Annuar was not adequate and that more investigations must be conducted to “ensure the return of the trust of the bumiputera”.

“All transactions made by PMB under Annuar must be reviewed to ensure that all investments were made in a transparent manner and without favouring anyone's personal interests,” she said.

She said it was important for the Mara leadership to be filled by those with the requisite skills needed to restructure Mara.

Citing the termination of two top former Mara officials for purportedly spending RM65 million to buy apartment blocks in Australia, Nurul also pointed to the political appointments made when it comes to the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda).

“Felda’s weakness in appointing politicians to manage the organisation should be the best lesson in efforts to improve Mara, whose performance continues to plunge due to politicians,” she added.- Mkini