Annuar accepts Mara decision on suspension as chairman, ready to help probe

Annuar, who is on a working visit to New Zealand, said he was unaware of the special meeting of the Mara council that was held today.

"I was unaware that a meeting will be held and I have never been officially asked about any issue," he said when contacted by Bernama.

Annuar is in New Zealand on official Mara matters, one of which is to attend a meeting of Kolej Yayasan Saad and Queenstown Recreational College (OTAGO University), and is scheduled to return to Malaysia on Thursday.

Mara Council member Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob announced at a media conference today the immediate suspension of Annuar from the two positions, saying it was to facilitate an investigation by Mara internal auditors into several matters including the PMB and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) sponsorship of the Kelantan football team, The Red Warriors.

Yusof explained that during the period of the suspension, Annuar cannot have access to all information and instructions pertaining to his position as the chairman.

Also, during the suspension, all duties of Annuar at the agencies would be handled by Yusof with the agreement of Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Annuar said he was only informed of the decision on the suspension by Mara director-general Datuk Ibrahim Ahmad and Dr Yusof after the meeting.

He said he was prepared to extend cooperation to any investigation related to his suspension.

He also said that he had asked the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and Ibrahim to carry out an internal audit after rumours emerged on the issue.

"All kinds of accusations and statements emerged, so I asked the (rural and regional development) minister and (Mara) director-general to conduct an internal audit on the relevant matters.