YaPEIM to take legal action against NOW

The Malaysian Islamic Economic Development Foundation (YaPEIM) is taking legal action against National Oversight and Whistleblowers (NOW) director Akmal Nasir over allegations he made against the foundation.

YaPEIM chief executive officer Datuk Abibullah Samsudin said the claims by Akmal, who is also Johor Bahru Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief, was baseless and malicious.

YaPEIM viewed seriously claims made by Akmal, including on the alleged abuse of funds, as they caused a crisis of confidence among contributors and placed the institution in bad light, he said in a statement here today.

He claimed that NOW had exploited information obtained from documents stolen from YaPEIM and called for the cooperation of the relevant agencies to put a stop to what NOW was doing.

Abibullah said that until 2014, YaPEIM had spent RM453 million on socio-economic development programmes, while contributions received during the same period, made through salary deduction and other schemes, was only RM334 million.

As such, the issue that YaPEIM paid the allowance for its president and deputy president using donations made by contributors through salary deduction does not arise, he added.

He said the payment for salary, allowance and operation cost of the foundation was from income generated through its business activities, including through the Ar Rahnu pawn broking scheme which generated income of RM83 million this year through its 202 branches nationwide.

Based on the 2014 financial report, YaPEIM has assets worth RM1.034 billion, he added.

Akmal had claimed that YaPEIM president, its deputy president and family members received RM154,700 a month from the foundation.