Missing Balkis money belongs to the State

(The Malay Mail) – It's still a mystery where the RM9.9 million from the dissolved Wives of Selangor Elected Representative Charity Organisation (Balkis) is now.

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s Press secretary Nik Nazmi Ahmad told Malay Mail yesterday that the State’s lawyers had sent a letter to the Insolvency Department.

This is where the money is supposedly at — as claimed by the Registrar of Societies officer Tairah Yusoff at the Balkis enquiry last week.

“We sent the letter today (yesterday) and we hope that the department will cooperate with us,” said Nik Nazmi. Tairah, one of the 11 witnesses who testified before the Selangor Select Committee for Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat), claimed that RM9.9 million was the amount left in the charity’s bank account when it was dissolved.

“There are two things that we want to establish,” said Nik Nazmi. “Is the money really in the custody of the Insolvency Department? If the money is there, we are asking for the money to be returned to the State government.”

Nik Nazmi said after consulting their lawyers, the State government has the right over the money as it is a contribution by the State’s firms and private companies.

From the enquiry, it was also clear that the dissolution of Balkis was illegal, said Nik Nazmi. This was because the 70 women (former Balkis members) had cast their votes after most of them had become associate members, as their husbands had lost their positions to Pakatan Rakyat.

Associate members have no voting rights nor the authority to call or support a dissolution. In her testimony, Tairah also confirmed that no check was made into the charity’s membership list before the organisation was dissolved on Feb 11.

At the end of the hearing, it was also revealed that the  charity’s accounts had not been audited since 2001.