Mandiri says bank accounts of directors, NGOs frozen

 Executive director Amir Hadi says neither he nor the organisation has been contacted or told why the accounts were frozen.

Mandiri executive director Amir Hadi urged the authorities to explain the restrictions and immediately lift them.

PETALING JAYA:

Mandiri executive director Amir Hadi says his personal bank account and those belonging to the organisation have been frozen, days after he was barred from leaving the country.

In a statement, Amir said the personal account of Mandiri finance director Dobby Chew and that of Hayat, an NGO managed by Chew, had also been frozen.

He said neither he nor Chew had been contacted about the restrictions, provided reasons for them, or called in for questioning.

“Mandiri urges the authorities to explain these restrictions and immediately lift them,” he said.

“Mandiri has always been prepared to cooperate with any investigation and will give its full cooperation to the police and other authorities if required.”

The development comes about a week after Amir discovered that a travel restriction had been imposed on him. He made the discovery after checking his status on the MyBorderPass app.

Amir decided to check his status after Chew faced difficulties returning from Jakarta. Chew was told there was a restriction imposed by Bukit Aman but he was eventually allowed to enter Malaysia.

In today’s statement, Amir also denied claims that Mandiri was involved in political manoeuvring or moves to topple the government.

He said Mandiri was a civil society organisation focussed on empowering young people and university students, with its work centred on social justice, human rights, government transparency, economic justice and environmental sustainability.

Mandiri was founded in 2024 as a youth-led civil society organisation focussed on empowering young people and strengthening democratic participation. - FMT