PETALING JAYA – The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Integrity Committee hopes that the poison pen letter issue will be resolved soon after the investigation into two allegations of abuse of power involving the governing body was classified as no further action (NFA).
Its chairman, Tan Sri Dr Aseh Che Mat, said this is to restore the credibility of the country’s football governing body.
“This will restore the confidence of all FAM stakeholders,” he told a media conference after the FAM Integrity Seminar at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya here today.
He said that following the dissemination of the poison pen letter in March, the FAM Integrity Committee held discussions before handing the matter over to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate.
He added that the investigation included allegations of abuse of power in the RM25 million tender process for the National Training Centre (NTC) in Putrajaya, as well as allegations of money misuse for the 60th FAM Congress.
“Investigations into the two issues have been completed and referred to the deputy public prosecutor, who is satisfied with the result of MACC’s investigation and decided to classify the case as no further action, NFA,” he said.
At the same time, Aseh said police have also called on current and former FAM employees over the past few weeks to assist in the investigation into the poison pen letter issue, adding that the police probe is still ongoing.
He pointed out that FAM had also taken proactive measures by setting up a special committee chaired by FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram to enhance the governance and management of the governing body.
Sivasundram said the special committee would present a summary of its findings from the interviews held with all the FAM employees soon.
The poison pen letter had gone viral as an e-mail at the end of March, highlighting leadership and management issues in FAM.
The four main issues raised were abuse of power by the FAM secretary-general, staff salary and benefits, as well as issues involving the Harimau Malaya squad and the NTC project. – May 29, 2024