Madani Gov T Must Set Up Official Fundraising Body For Palestinian Cause To Prevent Aman Palestin 2 0 Scandal

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ONCE bitten twice shy.
Amid Malaysia’s grand scale solidarity stance towards the plight of the Palestinians in the face of destruction inflicted by the Zionist forces, it certainly makes sense to have a regulated fund collection centre overseen by the relevant authorities.
Such call came from digital creator Mohd Faisal who opined that a centralised body would prevent fraudulent collection undertaken by opportunist NGOs in the name of humanitarian cause.

His reminder of not to throw caution to the wind is substantiated by the claim of former Palestinian ambassador Walid Abu Ali who claimed that many past donations in the name of Al Aqsa Mosque did not reach their intended recipients.
“Then we were shocked by the news about Aman Palestin being raided by the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) with its top brass charged in court with more than 160 charges* for misappropriating donations in the name of Palestine,” lamented Mohd Faisal who hailed from Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

The Aman Palestin headquarters in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor (Image credit: Bernama)“We shouldn’t continue to let other parties collect donations in the name of Palestine because we can’t let lightning strike twice again and again.”
After all, the social media influencer’s justification struck the cord given that if the donation process is handled by the government itself, “this will raise the rakyat’s confidence bar that the funds are managed transparently because they will be audited by the National Audit Department”.
“At the end of the day, all donations will also be able to reach their intended recipients through government-to-government relations.”
Earlier, Mohd Faisal has cast doubt about the charity drive for Gaza undertaken by NGO Cinta Gaza Malaysia (CGM) following which its founder and CEO Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri Kamaruzaman a.k.a. Nadir Al-Nuri has vouched that its collection process is both transparent and audited.


“So far, we have channelled over US$1 mil (RM4.21 mil) to GSF (the Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian mission) and that became the seed money which enabled GSF to be implemented,” clarified Nadir who is also the regional Sumud Nusantara (SN) director-general.
“Then we bought two observer ships with the value of around US$270,000. This doesn’t include logistics costs, lawyers, humanitarian aid from Spain, ship fuel and food for the ships to sail from Tunisia to Gaza.”

Added the Scotland-born 38-year-old:
“The initial and main target of SN is indeed RM10 mil, of which we’re collecting in stages, which explains why when we reached RM5 mil, we raised the target to RM7 mil and so on when there is momentum.
“Even if we reach RM10 mil, the sum will not be enough to undertake the second wave. The emergency target is indeed on-going by project basis. Every month we channel a minimum of RM1.5 mil to Gaza. You’re welcome to visit our office view all the documents.” 
* Recount that Aman Palestin, a prominent Malaysian NGO dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians, had had its chairman Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman and its CEO Awang Sufian Awang Piut slapped with 164 charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering amounting to RM39.53 mil between March 2018 and November 2023.

Both who pleaded not guilty were also individually accused of 52 counts of CBT alleging that they misappropriated funds totalling RM20.95 mil.
Additionally, they faced joint charges related to deceitfully procuring cash from Aman Palestin for the ostensible purchase of gold, an endeavour that allegedly saw an inflated expenditure of RM39.15 mil from the actual purchase price.
In their capacity as directors of Samudra Champa Sdn Bhd, the duo also faced accusations of money laundering totalling RM12,833,772.16, allegedly utilised for purchasing luxury vehicles, shop lots, factory warehouses and land parcels across the nation.
 - Focus Malaysia

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