‘Let’s lodge joint MACC report on Mitra funds’: Waytha dares Halimah

KUALA LUMPUR – Former national unity minister P. Waytha Moorthy has called his successor to the post, Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique, to jointly lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to allow them to investigate allegations into the misuse of funds from the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra).

In a statement today, Waytha Moorthy said based on the ministry’s statement yesterday – which expressed Halimah’s confidence that there was no misuse of Mitra funds during her tenure at present – she should answer the allegations involving the mishandling of funds that are circulating through social media instead.

“I challenge Halimah to jointly make an MACC report with me so that the authorities can investigate both of us. 

“This will prove she has nothing to hide nor fear, as I do. She can pick a date and time and I will make myself available,” he said.

Waytha’s response comes after the National Unity ministry denied that the approval of funds from Mitra was under the discretion of the National Unity Ministry’s director-general and Halimah after assuming the post.

In a statement issued by the ministry yesterday stated that all Mitra grants were approved by the then national unity director-general Magalingam Maniam, who was appointed by Waytha Moorthy during the Pakatan Harapan administration.

“Magalingam, who served until his contract ended on June 30, had been appointed by Waytha Moorthy.

“After Halimah took over from Waytha Moorthy, the ministry had established two committees that operated under Finance Ministry-approved guidelines for the management of Mitra funds,” the ministry stated, in addressing claims by several quarters that Mitra’s funds had been mishandled.

It said both committees – with members composed of ministry officials and chaired by the National Unity Ministry’s secretary-general – were assigned to assess Mitra grant applications and monitor the implementation of approved grants.

The ministry added that it is ready to cooperate with MACC over the said allegations.

The tit-for-tat between Halimah and Waytha Moorthy involving Mitra funds became a hot topic after the former told the Dewan Rakyat that the Prime Minister’s Department had already spent around half of the RM100 million of the annual allocation for Mitra before it was handed over to her ministry.

In response to opposition MPs, Halimah told them to query Waytha Moorthy over the expenditure of Mitra’s funds, which are split into both this year’s and last year’s allocations.

Following her remarks, Waytha Moorthy then challenged Halimah to repeat the claims outside of Parliament.

Waytha Moorthy also had claimed that Mitra, which had been known during the Barisan Nasional administration as the Socio-Economic Development of the Indian Community Unit, was riddled with incidents of huge fund mismanagement by those managing it then. – The Vibes, October 10, 2021