ALOR STAR: Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has denied that the RM5 million loan given by a company to the Kedah Football Association (KFA) was a bribe to obtain contracts from the state government.
The Kedah menteri besar claimed that the money was part of a loan and a commitment fee paid by Tulangis Sdn Bhd (Tulangis) for a proposed acquisition of shares in Darulaman Football Club Sdn Bhd (DAFC).
"In 2020, Tulangis Sdn Bhd, represented by Datuk Mohd Hazarul Ifdaz, expressed an interest to acquire DAFC shares.
"Acting on transparency, negotiation on the shares acquisition had been initiated and Tulangis agreed to provide a RM5 million loan as a commitment to acquire DAFC shares worth RM30 million.
"RM5 million was deposited into the KFA account in that year (2020)," he said in a statement in his capacity as the KFA president.
Sanusi said the shares acquisition negotiation failed after KFA discovered that Tulangis was problematic and the talks had been halted immediately.
Following this failure, he said Tulangis demanded KFA to refund RM1.3 million as part of the RM5 million given earlier, based on the association's financial capability.
"At the same time, Berjaya Corporation Bhd, a huge conglomerate came into the picture and claimed the RM5 million belonged to them.
"The RM5 million was given by Berjaya Corporation Bhd to Tulangis to pave the way towards a joint venture to undertake/renew water supply treatment concessions under another company's name," he said.
Thus, Sanusi claimed that there was no swindling or criminal breach of trust worth RM6 million as the value of the loan was at RM5 million.
"Berjaya Corporation Bhd has never dealt directly with KFA and it has demanded that the money be given to Tulangis. A copy of the letter of claim (from Berjaya Corporation to Tulangis) was sent to KFA.
"The party that committed the fraud was Tulangis and the one that was duped by the promises of projects was Berjaya Corporation. The party that made promises of projects to Berjaya Corporation was Tulangis Sdn Bhd, not KFA, claimed Sanusi.
He further claimed that Tulangis was hoping to be awarded a project to develop a race track but an evaluation done by Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) as the developer and the land owner of the company, concluded that Tulangis has no capacity to undertake the project.
"Both Tulangis Sdn Bhd and Berjaya Corporation did not get any projects that they had wished for after giving the loan to KFA.
"Awarding any contract related to the state government to any creditor or donor is totally beyond KFA capability and jurisdiction.
"There was no power abuse, theft or swindling for personal interest by anyone in KFA except for everything spent on KFA.
"This corruption allegation is the most bizarre in the world and could be regarded as unnatural. The case is being investigated for not awarding contracts while corruption cases are normally being investigated for involving cash transactions or awarding projects.
"This is what was meant by the plot of creating things that did not exist," he said.
Sanusi also warned that whoever is trying to smear KFA's reputation, its president or any officers and accuse them of being involved in the RM6 million corruption allegations will face legal action as soon as possible.
On Wednesday, Sanusi spent over three hours giving his statement at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya in connection with the ongoing probes.
However, MACC Investigation Division senior director Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hashim was reported as saying that he was unable to reveal the details of the investigation since it contained information deemed confidential and sensitive.