Former deputy prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today claimed the US$50 million donation by Qatar for Rohingya refugees in Malaysia was never channelled to the then Pakatan Harapan government.
Instead, the former women, family and community development minister said the sum was channelled straight to the NGOs involved, with Yayasan Kebajikan Negara (YKN) merely serving to coordinate.
The explanation came as Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday denied the money was channelled into his private account and called on Harapan to explain what became of it.
“Zahid, as president of Umno, the party which is now in the Perikatan Nasional government, should be able to obtain all the information on this by contacting the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.
“[...] The important thing is the allocation was never channelled to the government but handed straight by Qatar, through the Qatar Charity (QC), to NGOs involved.
“YKN, an agency under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, was the coordinating body for the aid in line with a cabinet decision on April 5, 2019.
“The cabinet also decided to appoint the National Security Council (NSC) to chair the oversight committee for the programme and to report directly to a high council I chaired up to February 23, 2020,” she said in a statement today.
She added the Harapan government structured the administration of the refugee aid programme in such a way to ensure accountability and good management.
In a social media posting, Zahid had claimed the US$50 million (RM217.7 million in current exchange rate), initially promised by Qatar to the previous BN administration, was received by the previous government after GE14.
He further included a link to a November 2018 post by Wan Azizah, who was deputy prime minister at the time, of her thanking the Qatari government for the donation.
In her statement today, she explained the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) humanitarian aid for the Rohingya refugees was utilised in three sectors - health, education and livelihood.
“For the implementation of the health sector, a project deal was sealed on September 13, 2019 between YKN, QC and three NGOs namely Mercy Malaysia, Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (Imaret) and Malaysia Relief Agency (MRA), with YKN going through due diligence.
“The deal was for a period of one year up to September 12, 2020, and would be renewed annually for three years, with a yearly allocation of US$5 million (RM21.7 million) or USD$15 million for three years (RM65.2 million).
“When the shift in power took place in Putrajaya (this year), implementation of the education sector was in the evaluation stage by the QFFD while discussion has yet to start on the livelihood sector,” Wan Azizah said.
Although the Qatari government committed to channelling the aid for three years, it stated the possibility of a further three-year aid in order to ensure the sustainability of the programme, if needed.
She added that this funding by Qatar had helped to ease the burden shouldered by the Malaysian government to help the Rohingya, which in turn, helped Malaysians.
The Pandan MP, however, urged the Myanmar government to assume responsibility for the mass exodus of the Rohingya people instead of passing the responsibility to neighbouring countries. - Mkini
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