A GROUP of businessmen, including a Datuk, were deceived by a company director who claimed that he wanted to work with them to establish a new political party called Barisan Penyatuan Nasional (BPN) for the 15th General Election (GE15) last year, resulting in an RM32 mil loss.
In addition to making contributions to the BPN establishment fund, some of them claimed to be victims of investment frauds and loan scams from the same individual.
Datuk Kamisan Palil, 38, a victim and previous independent candidate in Melaka, said he and several friends had met the man who allegedly requested that they contest for several parliamentary seats in Melaka.
The individual promised to bear all costs, including for the campaigning period in the Jasin parliamentary seat and had even forked out RM150,000 from his own personal fund in advance for the purpose.
“(Not long after that) I called the man again but all calls went unanswered and he even exited all our WhatsApp group chats,” Kamisan was reported as saying by Berita Harian today (July 21).
“As a result, my good name alongside with the non-governmental organisation (NGO) that I am running becomes associated with the establishment of the so-called party.”
Kamisan further pointed out that he had also lost his income as a coconut supplier in the process.
Yesterday (July 20), a group of five individuals came forward to lodge a police report at the Bayan Baru police station, alleging that they were victims of fraud by a company director who promised an allocation of RM4.5 mil to each candidate for a parliamentary seat.
It is believed that the individual deceived a total of 160 candidates, resulting in a loss of at least RM200,000 per person.
Meanwhile, Datuk Norhisham Nasrom, 40, claimed that he had lost about RM500,000 after being conned into running for the Bagan Serai parliamentary seat.
Norhisham said he was duped into believing that the man who approached him was a descendent of the Negri Sembilan royal family and also a great-grandson of the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“Right now, it’s not about money; it’s about my dignity as the chairman of the Pertubuhan Kebajikan Penyatuan Malaysia, which has helped a lot of people,” he lamented.
“I also don’t want anyone else to fall victim to this individual’s scams because it has had such a life-changing impact on some of our friends.
“I also hope that other victims would come forward to report so that the authorities could conduct further investigations,” he said.
Another victim, Mohamed Mahyuddin Tajuddin, 63, said he lost RM500,000 after being duped by the company director into contesting in Hulu Selangor.
He was also appointed as BPN’s deputy sponsor and had even accompanied the individual throughout the country for collaboration purposes.
“I was tasked with managing the implementation and paperwork for some of the promised projects, but after a week, he started giving all sorts of excuses, including being unable to contest because the Registrar of Societies (ROS) did not approve the party’s registration,” Mohamed Mahyuddin said.
“Up until when this report was made, there were no negotiations about this matter and I feel deceived. I checked and also found that I was not the only victim as many others had also faced the same situation.” – July 21, 2023
Main pic credit: Malay Mail
