THE Pakatan Harapan (PH) government will look into the various issues surrounding Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) as Malaysians want these matters to be addressed, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

He said that he would bring up this matter at the PH Council meeting and it will be discussed in the cabinet.

“This reflects public opinion. Mara has become a sensitive issue. It needs to be given attention by Bersatu and PH.

“I will bring this up to the ministers on how sensitive of an issue this is. If you want public support, you need to be sensitive to their opinions,” Dr Mahathir said in a press conference after chairing a Bersatu supreme council meeting on Friday night.

The PH chairman said that issues surrounding Mara, including that of land ownership, need to be addressed immediately.

Mara has been involved in several dubious land deals in Australia undertaken by a subsidiary, Mara Inc.

On July 19, 2013, top officials of Mara Inc mortgaged a property to raise money to buy another building in Melbourne – Dudley House. That transaction is also being investigated for fraud, corruption and money laundering.

Australia’s Fairfax Media reported that the cost of the Melbourne student accommodation building was inflated by AU$4.75 million (RM14.15 million) to “pay for kickbacks” in the deal.

The scandal came to light in 2015 after Melbourne glazier John Bond sought help from the courts after having been driven to bankruptcy when officials involved in the deal refused to pay for renovation work at Dudley House.

In the wake of the scandal, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) launched an investigation and detained several people, who were later released without charge, while the Australian Federal Police also conducted its own investigation

Mara’s top leaders have also been questioned by MACC for alleged corrupt practices. – August 11, 2018.