KUALA LUMPUR – The Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) have been left in the dark over their recent encounter with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in connection with allegations of abuse of power and criminal breach of trust (CBT).
KLFA president Khalid Abdul Samad told The Vibes the association was not informed of the purpose of MACC’s enquiries last week.
“All I know is that there was a report made against KLFA, and now MACC is investigating those claims,” he said.
According to sources, MACC had raided KLFA and KL City FC (KLFC) as part of its investigation after receiving reports alleging CBT involving KLFC sponsorship money and KLFA Academy land in Desa Melawati.
However, Khalid said the claim was blown out of proportion, as MACC did not actually raid the offices.
“It was more of a friendly encounter. The officers called us and said they wanted to check on some transactions, so we gave them what they asked for.
“Even though they did not specifically tell us what the requests were for, we will give them our full cooperation,” he added.
Khalid, also Shah Alam MP, emphasised that the association is clean of wrongdoings.
“To the best of our knowledge, there is no abuse of power or CBT. Overall there are no issues with the association.
“If there were problems, then the top level management would not be functioning well, and the club would not be getting the results recently,” he said.
Meanwhile, KLFC chief executive officer Stanley Bernard echoed Khalid's comments, stating that the club was not told of MACC’s intentions.
“At the moment we are in the dark as well. I believe MACC is just checking on some documents to ensure everything is in order,” said Stanley.
KLFC recently defeated PSM Makassar 5-2 in the Asean Zone Final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.
But the limelight was taken away from the club’s win as video clips depicting scenes of fights outside the Cheras Stadium an hour after the match went viral.
Khalid denied that neither KLFA nor KLFC was involved in the incident and has lodged a police report in connection with the issue. – The Vibes, August 27, 2022