KUALA LUMPUR – The sports commissioner’s office will leave it to the police to further investigate the reported claim of fund mismanagement in the Selangor Athletic Association (SAA) by its former treasurer.
Sports commissioner, Ibrahim Mohd Yusof, told The Vibes that he was aware of the claim by former treasurer, Murugan Ramasamy, but added that it is only right to allow the police to complete their investigation before stepping in.
“I know about the accusation, and it comes under criminal breach of trust. I cannot just get myself involved when the police are investigating. I want to evaluate their (police) findings first to know if there’s a need for me to step in.
Although Ibrahim had instructed the SAA to explain these accusations in a written letter, apparently, they (SAA) want to discuss this matter internally before submitting a written explanation to my office.
“As the accusation is directed towards a few people in the committee, the rest would want to find out (internally) if these claims are true.
“I am not sure why their internal meeting has not taken place yet. Given the pandemic, I understand that there are compliance issues to look at before meeting in-person, but I am sure they can (always) meet virtually.
“We have recently sent them a reminder, so I will wait for their reply,” said Ibrahim.
Furthermore, Ibrahim said that this is an operational issue involving committee members, adding that it would not be right to get involved unless there is proof of wrongdoing.
“Right now, it is just a claim of wrongdoing. There is a process in place, and I will make sure that it is followed; we cannot jump the gun based on claims.”
Police reports lodged by Murugan claimed that the top management of SAA had allegedly mismanaged RM110,000 from the fixed deposit account of the association. − The Vibes, September 9, 2021
