KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian athletics has never been shy of controversies and scandals. The latest in the list is the allegation of mismanagement of funds by the top management of the Selangor Athletic Association (SAA).
It has been alleged that the RM110,000 that was in the association's fixed deposit has been mismanaged by the powers above.
Despite a police report and report to the sports commissioner, SAA’s vice-president Varughese Abraham and former treasurer Murugan Ramasamy told The Vibes that no action has been taken so far and all parties are keeping mum.
Murugan, who recently quit, said that he had been kept in the dark over the financial matters of the association since he was appointed in 2018, replacing his predecessor Fauzi Manimaran.
He alluded that mismanagement of the funds by the top management could be the reason information on the association’s financial status was withheld from him.
“In every association or organisation, the treasurer is held responsible and accountable for financial matters, but here, it is the secretary Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor who seems to be in charge.
“Since I took over in November 2018, I did not receive any documents, bank statements, or vouchers as there was no proper handover of duty from Fauzi. I was informed by Rahim that the association has a bank account and fixed deposit with CIMB.
“I approached and requested president Datuk Marathamuthu Subramaniam and the secretary to hand over all documents, bank statements, and the chequebook to enable me to perform my duty as the newly appointed treasurer, but unfortunately, my request was ignored and received no feedback from them.
However, Murugan said that the chequebook was passed to him after six months as it was kept by the secretary, adding that before he obtained the chequebook, there were five blank cheques that he was made to sign by the president and secretary.
“I did not receive any records or vouchers for the five blank cheques I was asked to sign, nor did I receive any details regarding those cheques. I was promised that the vouchers would be prepared before the president signed off.
“I approached the president and requested further clarification on the matter. Unfortunately, I haven’t received any feedback until today.”
Murugan said that during the annual general meeting in 2018 he was informed of a fixed deposit with the amount of RM110,000.
“I also requested the president and secretary to hand over the fixed deposit certificate, but nothing was given.
“Due to this, I became suspicious that there were elements of mismanagement of funds. I did not want to be held responsible and accountable or accused for any misconduct, hence I decided to resign,” said Murugan.
At the same time, Murugan took this matter to Abraham, and both decided to further investigate for any evidence leading to the mishandling of funds.
When The Vibes contacted Abraham for clarification, he said he was “99.99% confident” that the RM110,000 had been taken out from the fixed deposit.
“We lodged a police report and even took the matter up to the sports commissioner but until today, no investigation nor action has been taken.
“Withdrawing funds from the association’s account will need the signature of the president/deputy president and the treasurer, so I’m not sure where the money went.
“I contacted the bank but was unsuccessful in obtaining any information. However, I’m sure that the funds have been mishandled,” said Abraham.
He said that according to the constitution, the president and the treasurer need to get the approval of the council to withdraw any amount exceeding RM25,000. But in this case, no approval was given.
“We cannot just let this go. The money belongs to the association, and nobody has the authority to take the money out without the knowledge or approval of the council,” said Abraham.
“Are the authorities holding back because they don’t care?
“I hope the sports commissioner and police will take this matter seriously and do the needful before it is too late,” Abraham said. – The Vibes, September 7, 2021
