Wednesday, 29 Apr 2020
BY EMMANUEL SANTA MARIA CHIN
KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — Former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today responded to the Umno president who questioned how US$50 million (RM218million) in donations for the Rohingya community here was used.
In response to a Facebook post by Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday, Dr Wan Azizah pointed out that the Qatari donation was made out by the Qatar Charity (QC) to the NGOs involved and not through the government.
She said Yayasan Kebajikan Negara (YKN), an agency under the Women, Family, and Community Development Minister, had been tasked to delegate the aid following a Cabinet decision on April 5, 2019.
Dr Wan Azizah held the portfolio prior to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government.
“The Cabinet decision also appointed the National Security Council (NSC) as the head of the committee overseeing the program’s implementation which would report directly to a presidential committee which I chaired until February 23, 2020.
“Cabinet members drafted an administrative structure as such to ensure transparency in implementation and management of the program which was aligned with the focus of the Pakatan Harapan government to emphasise on accountability, transparency, integrity, and efficient governance,” she said in a statement today.
Dr Wan Azizah said the humanitarian effort, which used funds from the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), was broken down into three sectors: health, education, and livelihood.
She said a one-year agreement expiring September 12 was made, but explained how these pacts are usually extended every year or once every three years, with annual contributions at US$5 million (RM21.75 million) per year, or US$15 million (RM65.2 million) for the three years.
“Concerning the implementation within the health sector, a project agreement had been sealed on September 13, 2019, between YKN, QC and three other NGOs involved in the sector, namely Mercy Malaysia, (IMARET) and the Malaysia Relief Agency (MRA), together with coordinating agencies, YKN, through the process of due diligence accordingly,” she wrote.
She told Zahid he could easily obtain such information by virtue of being in the ruling coalition and suggested he contact her successor, Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun.
This comes in response to Zahid’s call for Dr Wan Azizah to explain how the funds were used after allegations were thrown against him that the money was channeled into his private account.
Zahid wrote that the agreement between the Malaysian and Qatari government was made during the reign of Barisan Nasional, but the donation arrived during the Pakatan Harapan administration.
Additionally, Dr Wan Azizah today urged the Myanmar government to step up and address the mass exoduses of the Rohingya people from their country, stressing the responsibility of their wellbeing lies with their government and not with governments of neighbouring countries.
Link:https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/04/29/dr-wan-azizah-us50m-qatari-donation-for-rohingya-went-through-ngos-not-paka/1861399
Formey deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the Qatari donation was made out by the Qatar Charity (QC) to the NGOs involved and not through the government. — Picture by Firdaus Latif
KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — Former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today responded to the Umno president who questioned how US$50 million (RM218million) in donations for the Rohingya community here was used.
In response to a Facebook post by Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday, Dr Wan Azizah pointed out that the Qatari donation was made out by the Qatar Charity (QC) to the NGOs involved and not through the government.
She said Yayasan Kebajikan Negara (YKN), an agency under the Women, Family, and Community Development Minister, had been tasked to delegate the aid following a Cabinet decision on April 5, 2019.
Dr Wan Azizah held the portfolio prior to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government.
“The Cabinet decision also appointed the National Security Council (NSC) as the head of the committee overseeing the program’s implementation which would report directly to a presidential committee which I chaired until February 23, 2020.
“Cabinet members drafted an administrative structure as such to ensure transparency in implementation and management of the program which was aligned with the focus of the Pakatan Harapan government to emphasise on accountability, transparency, integrity, and efficient governance,” she said in a statement today.
Dr Wan Azizah said the humanitarian effort, which used funds from the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), was broken down into three sectors: health, education, and livelihood.
She said a one-year agreement expiring September 12 was made, but explained how these pacts are usually extended every year or once every three years, with annual contributions at US$5 million (RM21.75 million) per year, or US$15 million (RM65.2 million) for the three years.
“Concerning the implementation within the health sector, a project agreement had been sealed on September 13, 2019, between YKN, QC and three other NGOs involved in the sector, namely Mercy Malaysia, (IMARET) and the Malaysia Relief Agency (MRA), together with coordinating agencies, YKN, through the process of due diligence accordingly,” she wrote.
She told Zahid he could easily obtain such information by virtue of being in the ruling coalition and suggested he contact her successor, Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun.
This comes in response to Zahid’s call for Dr Wan Azizah to explain how the funds were used after allegations were thrown against him that the money was channeled into his private account.
Zahid wrote that the agreement between the Malaysian and Qatari government was made during the reign of Barisan Nasional, but the donation arrived during the Pakatan Harapan administration.
Additionally, Dr Wan Azizah today urged the Myanmar government to step up and address the mass exoduses of the Rohingya people from their country, stressing the responsibility of their wellbeing lies with their government and not with governments of neighbouring countries.
Link:https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/04/29/dr-wan-azizah-us50m-qatari-donation-for-rohingya-went-through-ngos-not-paka/1861399
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