THE Penang Islamic Council (MAINPP) has begun investigating Zakat Pulau Pinang’s operations after the agency was hit by an alleged corruption scandal involving top officers.

Penang religious exco Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said MAINPP’s finance committee had its first meeting yesterday and would start work immediately.

“The committee reports directly to MAINPP, the parent organisation that fully owns ZPP,” he told a press conference today at the state legislative assembly building.

The MAINPP finance committee is chaired by the state finance officer and involves the ZPP audit committee, the state’s internal auditor-general, state treasurer and MAIPP officers.

Earlier this month, seven ZPP officers, including its chief executive officer, were detained by the MACC for investigation following allegations of corruption and power abuse.

MACC also detained eight contractors to assist the investigation. All those detained and remanded have since been released.

Penang MACC director Abdul Aziz Aban had said earlier this month that preliminary investigation showed that the individuals had allegedly misused funds worth millions of ringgit by organising programmes before splitting up the profit.

He also said MACC believed the CEO had allegedly received valuables, money, cheques from contractors and suppliers in return for awarding certain projects to them.

Malik said the ZPP officers under investigation have been transferred to MAINPP until the probe is completed.

“They are not suspended. We cannot suspend them without due process. They have been reassigned to other tasks that have nothing to do with ZPP,” he said.

Malik also said MAINPP secretary and Penang Islamic Affairs Department director Sazali Hussain had been appointed acting ZPP CEO.

The acting CEO, he said, is authorised to appoint MAINPP officers to take over duties of the ZPP officers involved in the MACC probe.

Malik said again that no zakat money has been misappropriated and said this was a case of wrongdoing by individuals.

“The Auditor-General’s Report never found any misappropriation when audits are run annually,” he said. – May 24, 2017.