THE fall-out from Aman Palestin’s top brass being slapped with corruption charges last week has seen the once cash-flushed non-governmental organisation (NGO) being forced to operate at reduced scale while its staff told to take unpaid leave.
Amid the freeze of its bank accounts by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) almost three months ago, only seven of 20 Aman Palestin branches nationwide are currently operating while about 100 or two-thirds of its 150 staff were told to take unpaid leave pending further notice.
This was confirmed by the NGO’s Media and Documentation Department manager Ismail Muhammad Jufri who further noted that the decision was finalised by the NGO’s management effective Feb 1.
“At the moment, Aman Palestin is not prevented from operating but operational costs depend entirely on very limited secondary funds,” he was cited as saying by Malay-language daily Berita Harian.
“So far, we still receive donations from certain parties channelled directly to our office from time to time. Staff members need to perform multiple duties to compensate for the shortage of manpower.”
Last week, two Aman Palestin Bhd top brass and a company director have been slapped with 126 charges of cheating.
Its executive chairman Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman, 58, and CEO Awang Sufian Awang Piut, 52, pleaded not guilty when charged with 126 counts of cheating, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering worth more than RM39 mil. The court took more than two hours to read the charges before the accused.
It was also reported that Awang Sufian has been listed as one of the three leaders of Malaysian Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who are listed in the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Terrorist Screening Centre.
Following this, the Foreign Ministry has ordered the three individuals not to be involved in Ops Ihsan which manages the delivery of humanitarian aid from Malaysians to the Palestinians in Gaza.
The other two other Muslim NGO leaders are Abu Bakar Abdul of Dunia Melayu Duni9a Islam and Ahmad Musa Al Nurwayri Kamaruzaman of Persatuan Cinta Syria Malaysia.
In a statement on Nov 22, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has frozen 41 Aman Palestin bank accounts involving an amount of RM15.87 mil following alleged irregularities over its fundraising activities.
Since its establishment, Aman Palestin has provided various forms of aid for projects in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, funded by public donations with the main goal of supporting al-Aqsa.
Meanwhile, another Muslim NGO Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) has denied that it owns and manages Aman Palestin. This follows the circulation of a viral infographic detailing Aman Palestin’s assets frozen which also contained the alleged link.
“ISMA has never managed Aman Palestin,” noted ISMA’s secretary-general Muhammad ‘Izzat Husman said in a media statement. – Feb 19, 2024
Main pic credit: Bernama
