KUALA LUMPUR – Muda’s acting president, Amira Aisya Abd Aziz, has questioned the ongoing graft probes focused on former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin and his family, as they were not the only names mentioned in the Pandora and Panama Papers.
She also said that the investigations into him and his wife, Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, “should not be twisted” merely because they are rich individuals.
“Go ahead and investigate them (Daim and Na’imah) but do not be biassed about it (the case),” she said during a visit to Scoop’s office, here yesterday.
“If you are investigating them because their names are on the Pandora Papers or Panama Papers, then do investigate all of those in the papers, including some of the ministers in your (the government’s) cabinet.”
Amira, 29, had previously said she was a personal friend of 67-year-old Na’imah, who is also a member of Muda.
The party leader also explained that she was present at the sessions court last month in a show of support for Na’imah, adding that she would have done the same for others, as long as they were party members.
Asked to confirm whether Daim is the main funder of Muda, Amira declined to provide a direct answer.
“I am not at liberty of disclosing all our funders, nor do I know if any of my members fundraised from any other people. I cannot disclose that (who funds Muda), even if I knew,” she said.
Amira also believes that Muda is the only party with a strict funding policy, as it limits receivable donations to a maximum of RM200,000 per person.
Interestingly, Amira also said none of the party’s members knew the source of all the funds raised.
“I must say here that we still do believe that Malaysia needs the Political Financing Act,” she said.
“If the money goes into the (party’s bank) account, none of us (party members) need to know who gave the money,” she said, adding that it is more important to know how it is spent.
She added that with the absence of a Political Financing Act in the country’s democratic framework, Muda, like all other parties, was not obliged to disclose the source of their funding. – February 22, 2024