RM9 mil shares: Azmin dismisses allegations
Gombak parliamentarian Azmin Ali and his family have been the targets of baseless accusations from various quarters since 1998, he said today in reference to the latest salvo on he and his wife owning millions in shares.
The attack came from Malaysian Indian Youth Development Foundation (MIYDF) chairperson SA Vigneswaran who had claimed that Azmin and his wife Shamshida Taharin owned shares worth more than RM9 million in total in the early 1990s.
Azmin dismissed the allegations as untrue.
Vigneswaran held a press conference yesterday in which he had urged Azmin to verify whether he had purchased shares of that value worth during the early 1990s when private secretary to then finance minister Anwar Ibrahim.
The former MIC Youth chief had also revealed a set of documents claiming that Azmin had purchased shares worth more than RM800,000 while his wife had allegedly bought at least RM8.5 million in shares.
“I have not seen the documents, but I believe the documents have been manipulated by certain parties to associate with me and my wife,” said Azmin in a statement to Malaysiakini.
“Since 1998, my family and I have often become the targets of defamation seeking to humiliate me and my family.
“I was hunted by the police, the anti-corruption agency and the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to conduct an inquiry into my property acquisition,” he said.
Azmin, who is also the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyperson, said that he was detained in 1998 for the same reason and had disclosed full details of his assets to the authorities then.
Vigneswaran told reporters yesterday that an envelope containing the documents as well as alleged receipts of the shares bought by the couple was delivered to his Klang house at 3am on Thursday.
He said that the person who dropped the documents off at the guard house of the gated residential area did not leave a name or any contact details.
One of the documents had a detailed breakdown of the funds deposited into what is believed to be Azmin’s Bank Islam account and Shamshida’s Malaysia French Bank Berhad account.
Clarify call to Azmin
There were also addendum with a breakdown of the shares purportedly owned by Shamshida in various companies.
According to one of the documents, Azmin had purchased through Bank Islam shares worth RM812,925 with his wife Shamshida’s amounting to RM8,496,492 through Malaysia French Bank Berhad.
“After going through the documents, I realised that large sum of money was transferred into their accounts and at that time Azmin was the private secretary to Anwar,” said Vigneswaran.
Since Azmin is now a public personality, the vice-president of PKR and member of parliament… he should explain these purchases and the transactions, he said.
Although Vigneswaran conceded that the documents could be forged, he urged Azmin to publicly declare whether the documents are authentic or not.
He said that he has written to Azmin to seek clarification on the ownership of the shares and the money transferred to the bank accounts.
“I just want him to clarify if these documents contain facts or are they false. Then I will decide on the next course of action,” he had said.
Azmin expressed frustration at “the vile attack by the opposition”.
“What happened today shows that the Barisan Nasional will not stop launching attacks to disrupt the peace and harmony of my family. I see these as disgusting tactics planned to humiliate and defame our reputation.”
He added that malicious motives were behind the statements and the clear political aim is to damage his reputation as MP and PKR vice-president.
“I hereby deny the allegations made by Vigneswaran and I have directed my solicitors to initiate the appropriate legal actions immediately against the relevant parties,” declared Azmin.
S Pathmawathy/Mkini
Fitnah Barisan Nasional Semakin Kencang
Dari Blog Azmin Ali
Kenyataan bekas ketua pemuda MIC, Vigneswaran yang mendakwa saya dan isteri memiliki saham bernilai RM 8.5 juta dari tahun 1992 sehingga tahun 1994 adalah tidak berasas sama sekali. Saya belum melihat dokumen yang didakwa oleh Vigneswaran tetapi saya percaya dokumen itu dimanipulasikan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu untuk mengaitkan dengan saya dan isteri saya. Semenjak tahun 1998, saya dan keluarga sering menjadi sasaran fitnah bertujuan untuk mengaibkan saya dan keluarga. Saya diburu oleh pihak berkuasa seperti polis, Badan Pencegah Rasuah dan juga Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri untuk menjalankan siasatan mengenai perolehan harta saya. Malahan, alasan yang sama digunakan untuk menangkap dan menahan saya pada 16 September 1998 sehingga 22 September 1998. Saya telah memberikan kerjasama penuh kepada pihak berkuasa termasuk butiran lengkap aset kami.
Saya merasa kesal kerana apa yang berlaku hari ini menunjukkan Barisan Nasional tidak akan berhenti dari melancarkan serangan fitnah yang jahat untuk mengganggu keamanan dan ketenteraman saya dan keluarga. Saya melihat tindakan jijik yang terancang ini adalah untuk mengaibkan dan mencemarkan nama saya dan isteri. Kenyataan berunsurkan fitnah dan berniat jahat itu jelas mempunyai motif politik bertujuan merosakkan reputasi saya selaku Ahli Parlimen Gombak serta Naib Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
Saya dengan ini menafikan sekeras-kerasnya tuduhan yang dilemparkan oleh Vigneswaran. Saya telahpun mengarahkan peguam saya untuk bertindak segera prosiding perundangan yang sewajarnya terhadap pihak yang membuat kenyataan dan melaporkan kenyataan fitnah tersebut.
