Three former Perkim leaders get jail terms and fines in RM3.6 million cheating case
(MM) – A former vice president of Perkim and two other members of the Muslim welfare organisation set up to help converts was sentenced today to six months jail and fined RM20,000 each after a Sessions Court here found them guilty of criminal breach of trust.
The offence involved RM3.6 million held in trust for Perkim as cash consideration for a project to upgrade the stretch of road from Subang Airport to Sungai Buloh Hospital between April 2002 and April 2004.
Former Perkim vice-president II Prof Emeritus Datuk Ariffin Suhaimi (pic), 74, Datuk Baharin Baba, 58, and Abas Adam, 60, both Perkim members, were charged with CBT on December 27, 2011. They were found guilty by Sessions Court judge Bakri Abdul Majid today.
Ariffin, Baharin and Abas had cheated Perkim by withholding information that they had received the cash consideration from Rira Bina Sdn Bhd for the project, according to a statement from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) today.
Perkim is a welfare organisation for Muslim converts founded by the country’s founding prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, in 1960. It is now led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is the longest-serving Malaysian prime minister.
The first phase of the project was awarded to Perkim (Damansara Utama)-Rira Bina Sdn Bhd JV in August 11, 2003, by the Public Works Department (JKR) and valued at RM130 million, according to the government’s Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) web site.
The second phase was then awarded in August 2, 2006 for RM139.5 million. The length of the road involved is 13.5km.
At the time, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was the works minister. He held the position from 1995 to 2008.
The project on Laluan B9/FT015 was part of the government’s plan to upgrade existing federal routes FT015 and B9 from Terminal 3 of Subang Airport to the Sungai Buloh Hospital.
Among the work components include building a new Sungai Buloh interchange, widening Jalan Hospital from a two-lane single carriageway to a four-lane dual carriageway, relocation of water mains and building pedestrian bridges.
