Saturday, February 18, 2012

Nurul wants an answer: Why were residents' funds channeled to Nong Chik's events

FT Minister Raja Nong Chik may have abused his power, channeling funds allocated for a public housing residents’ association in Lembah Pantai to his own programs.

The Apartment Sri Putra residents' association is allocated RM10,000 in assistance to run its program, which include a fire prevention training planned for April this year. But it had to be canceled after the funds were allegedly spent on a ‘Raja Nong Chik meets with the locals’ event organized by the local Umno branch.

Seeking clarification, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah told of how her constituents tried to apply to City Hall or DBKL, but were turned away.

“When they called DBKL to use their allocation, they were told that it was used for a programme organised by Umno which invited the minister.  But when we brought this matter up with DBKL, the mayor said that we have to bring the matter up to the ministry as he is only a civil servant,” Nurul told a press conference on Friday.

Big ambitions
Raja Nong Chik is the head of the Lembah Pantai Umno division and aspires to be nominated as his party's candidate for the constituency at the next general election, widely expected to be held this year.
If successful, he is likely to face Nurul, who won the seat in 2008 in a David vs Goliath
contest against Women's minister Shahrizat Jalil. Now at the centre of a corruption scandal that Nong Chik has been accused of stirring up, Shahrizat is unlikely to be chosen to contest the seat. Speculation is rife she may soon have to step down as minister as well as head of Wanita Umno.

Apartment Sri Putra residents' association committee member Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor, who was also at the press conference, said the remainder portion of the allocation was used for a 'maulidur rasul event' organized by the local surau committee.






Malaysia Chronicles.com

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