11 summoned to testify in Balkis probe

The Sun

SHAH ALAM (March 17, 2009) : Former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohammad Khir Toyo and his wife Datin Seri Zaharah Kechik are among 11 people summoned by the Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) to testify on discrepancies in the Wives of Selangor Assemblymen and Members of Parliament Welfare and Charity Organisation (Balkis).

"All except one have appeared before the committee and given their statements. The one witness has not returned from abroad," Selangor State Assembly Speaker Teng Chang Khim told a press conference.

"Selcat will conduct its first public hearing from Monday to March 31 on all issues relating to Balkis and the policies and guidelines used by state-owned companies to sponsor and fund the organisation," he said.

Asked if the hearing is also about the "Balkis’ money transfer issue", Teng, who is also Selcat chairman, said:

"The ‘money transfer’ is not the issue now. The case is more on Balkis’ activities and how the state’s subsidiaries and other private companies sponsored these activities."

"The hearing is open to the media and public and will be live on webcast. Selcat has also invited some non-governmental organisations to observe the proceedings," he said.

Teng said the hearing would be conducted formally similar to court procedures where all witnesses would have to "angkat sumpah" and they would be fully protected by the standing law of the state.

He also urged anyone with any kind of information or evidence relating to the matter to submit details to the committee and be present at the hearing.

He said those who fail to appear after being summoned can be charged under Section 3 of the Contempt of the House Enactment 2008, including a jail term of not more than 12 months or a fine of not more than RM3,000 or both.

"Investigation on Balkis issues started immediately after Selcat was formed last May," said Teng, adding that another issue it probed was the state’s allocations for assemblymen which were exhausted by the former assemblymen before the 12th general election.

The committee comprises seven members including Teng (DAP-Sungai Pinang), Haniza Talha (PKR-Taman Medan), Saari Sungib (PAS-Hulu Kelang), Azmin Ali (PKR-Bukit Antarabangsa), Edward Lee (DAP-Bukit Gasing), Sulaiman Abdul Razak (BN-Permatang) and Ismail Sani (BN-Dusun Tua).

On April 24, 2008, theSun broke the story that Balkis members decided to dissolve the welfare body and transferred almost RM10 million from its bank accounts to its affiliate Bakti, the Federal Organisation of Wives of Ministers.

According to documents sighted by theSun, Balkis chairman Zaharah had on March 11, 2008, three days after the 12th general election, convened an extraordinary general meeting of the committee to dissolve Balkis and close its bank accounts.

The accounts were closed the following day with the money transferred to another account first and then to Bakti.

Two days later, (March 13), the former exco members of Balkis issued a notice of dissolution to the ROS, which included amending the constitution of Balkis and establishing a new organisation to prevent the current state government from taking over the organisation and its premises – Kompleks Wawasan Balkis.

Last week the Dewan was given information which indicated that Balkis had three "technical" visits to Disneyland , Tokyo, Hongkong and South Korea, and that in 2007 the association spent RM1.2 million on overseas trips.