BUTTERWORTH: Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) president Farizan Darus has been told to go on leave pending investigations into the council’s plunging reserves.
The Penang Government also announced the appointment of state financial officer Datuk Supiah Md Yusof as acting council president. Supiah will also head a committee to investigate MPSP’s financial fiasco.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Supiah would be given two weeks to complete investigations and identify any wrongdoings and those responsible for the council’s financial plight.
He added that Supiah and her team would find out why MPSP’s reserves, which stood at RM230.1mil on Jan 1, 2000, had depleted to only RM6.4mil now.
Supiah said she would be calling up several people, including Aseania Development Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Musa Sheikh Fazir, who is also Bukit Mertajam Umno division chief, during her investigations.
Lim claimed the new council building in Bandar Baru Perda, Bukit Mertajam, costing RM84.3mil, was built by Aseania Development without any tender being called.
Lim added that MPSP had the option of building its new headquarters on a 7.5ha site in Ampang Jajar at a lower cost but decided on the Bandar Perda proposal.
“We will also investigate the loss of some RM50.3mil in annual allocation given to 21 state assemblymen and RM8.9mil to 24 MPSP councillors during the previous state government,” he told a news conference.
“We will also find out why the annual maintenance cost of RM800,000 for the council’s headquarters was awarded to Aseania Linear District Cooling system Sdn Bhd when the cost was too high,” Lim said at a press conference at the council headquarters before witnessing the swearing-in of Supiah as MPSP’s acting president on Monday.
He said the council would not slack in its services to ratepayers although it was facing financial constraints.
Asked if action would be taken against those found guilty, Lim replied that it was up to the police or Anti-Corruption Agency to take action as it was within their powers.
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