Decision to suspend or appoint Mara chairman needs consent of PM: Ismail Sabri

PETALING JAYA: Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pix) said he has to determine if the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) council has the power to suspend its chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
"I'm checking with Mara's legal advisor on the suspension ... whether the council members during the emergency meeting have the power to suspend (Annuar)," he told theSun today as questions were raised about the legitimacy of the suspension.
Admitting that he was aware of the emergency meeting, Ismail was of the view that Annuar's suspension was initially a suggestion by the council.
"The power to appoint a (Mara) chairperson falls under my ministry's jurisdiction and must have the consent of the Prime Minister," he said adding that he was not informed of the agenda.
Ismail, who overseas Mara, said that he is awaiting a report on the matter.
Annuar was serving his second two-year term as Mara chairman and Pelaburan Mara Bhd (PMB), which began on Aug 12 last year. He was first appointed to the post in July 19, 2013.
The meeting also decided that council member Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob would assume all positions held by Annuar.
Annuar had recently been embroiled in controversy over the sponsorship of the Kelantan "Red Warriors" football team involving Mara related funds.
The matter which was raised by Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim who alleged that a certain "Tan Sri" had forced Mara and its entities PMB and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) to sponsor Kelantan Football Association (Kafa).
In his posting several weeks ago, Tunku Ismail also uploaded several documents purportedly showing sponsorship transactions between the Mara entities and Kafa.
Annuar who had served as Kafa president since 2007 stepped down from his position on Nov 8, last year.
Today, Yusof told reporters that Mara will be conducting an internal audit meeting on Feb 7.
He said the Mara council will summon several individuals including Annuar regarding allegations involving misuse of power.
"The internal investigation will involve the recent expose of documents regarding the sponsorship by Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and PMB for the Kelantan 'The Red Warriors' football team," he said.
He further explained that the internal audit will only involve the alleged misuse of power by Annuar on the The Red Warriors sponsorship and not the purchase of four Mara assets in Melbourne, Australia.
The sale and purchase of those assets, he said, is a separate issue and is unrelated to the allegations involving Annuar as Mara and PMB chairman.
"While awaiting the decision, let us give Annuar a chance to take a break first as he is an individual of interest in this issue. (The suspension is also) is to prevent him from obtaining any detailed information on the audit investigations," he added.