AIMST: What has happened to the government grant?

Science and Technology (AIMST) University is believed to have been used  for unrelated matters, fresh
Malay Mail investigations show.

The “missing funds” are part of RM100 million apparently diverted from the government grant into a fixed
deposit five years ago.

The rationale for doing so is not immediately known but it was learnt that a former group financial controller was sacked in 2005 for using the government grant for its original purpose to pay contractors.

Malay Mail learnt that as of January this year some RM60 million was left in the CIMB fixed deposit account that earns a three per cent interest annually.

The revelation has also  raised questions as to why the MIED placed a government grant in fixed deposit
and took a loan of RM220 million for construction of the university and equipment.

The Bank Pembangunan loan was for an annual staggered interest of between 8.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent over 10 years.

Of the RM220 million, the sum of RM160 million for total construction cost has been utilised while the drawdown for equipment sits close to RM50 million of the RM60 million allotted for the purpose.

The cost of construction, that ballooned from RM230 million to close to RM500 million, has also been questioned.

Trustees and life members of Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED), the MIC’s education arm, were
shocked when asked to comment on our latest findings.

Several of the guardians of the MIED said they were not aware of the finances of MIED, citing the absence of
a formal meeting since its incorporation 25 years ago as first reported by Malay Mail last month.

The Malay Mail findings come ahead of a visit by Members of Parliament tomorrow to the MIED office at the MIC headquarters to query the financial status of the AIMST University.

The MPs, some of whom have been swamped with information of alleged financial improprieties in the construction and maintenance of the university, want an explanation on how government funds and millions in public donations were utilised (see accompanying story).

Apart from the RM300 million grant, the Kedah government had also provided 228 acres of land in Semeling
for a nominal premium of RM8 million for AIMST University.

Last week, several party leaders called for the resignation of AIMST Sdn Bhd chairman Tan Sri Dr K. Ampikaipakan, who is alleged to have attempted to register the 228 acres of land in the name of the company.
Ampikaipakan allegedly wanted MIED to transfer RM8 million to AIMST Sdn Bhd to enable the company to
pay the nominal premium to the Kedah government.

The move was said to have been endorsed by MIC-MIED chief Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.  Both Dr Ampikaipakan and Samy Vellu have yet to respond to the allegation that was first raised by MIED founding member and former MIC treasurer-general Tan Sri M. Mahalingam.

If AIMST Sdn Bhd paid the premium for the land as requested by Dr Ampikaipakan, the company would have become the legal owner of the land and whatever is erected on it.

Party leaders had claimed that if anyone wanted to hijack AIMST, it would have been easier to do that and dispose of it under a Sdn Bhd, unlike the MIED which is a Section 24 company. MIED was incorporated on Feb 29, 1984, as a company limited by guarantee.

AIMST, which opened its Semeling permanent campus in January 2007, is now valued at a whopping RM500
million.

The little-known move was made in 2000 when Dr Ampikaipakan held a 30 per cent stake in the company.

The other shareholders then were Datuk Dr T. Marimuthu (30 per cent) and Bumiputera shareholder Tan Sri Rashid Manap (40 per cent).

The company then was not a wholly-owned subsidiary of MIED, hence the placement of shares among the three individuals.

The shares were returned to the MIED about two years ago, after the 30 per cent Bumiputera requirement for
educational institutions was revoked.

MIED, which runs AIMST, the nation’s first private university, through MIED Capital Sdn Bhd, functions on the donations received from the public and government grants and like a charitable organisation enjoys tax
exemption.

MPs to ‘visit’ MIC Hq

TWENTY Member s of Parliament will take a short trip on a Parliament bus tomorrow to the MIC headquarters
on Jalan Rahmat to carry out their own investigations into the Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED) fiasco.

Padang Serai PKR MP N. Gobalakrishnan told Malay Mail that 20 lawmakers will visit the MIED office at 1pm “and we hope they will  extend their full cooperation to us and clarify alleged irregularities.”

He said key to the concerns of the parliamentarians is why RM100 million of the RM300 Federal government
grant was not used for its original purpose but instead placed in fixed deposit. “We want to know why the
government grant was put in fixed deposit for a three per cent annual interest and why they subsequently took a loan for RM220 million at higher interest.”

He said MIED, which sourced millions of ringgit from the Indian community, owes an explanation. “We are hoping they will welcome us with open arms.”

Gobalakrishnan said he briefed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz on their move to investigate the matter and sought his permission to exercise their parliamentary privileges with regard to the matter.

He had also raised the matter during the debate on Budget 2010 last week. “We hope Datuk Seri  (Samy Vellu) will be there because we also need to clarify reports of two versions of explanations on the relationship between MICMIED- AIMST,” he said.

Gobalakrishnan called on all parliamentarians from  both sides of the divide to join them in the pursuit of
justice.

FUNDING FOR AIMST UNIVERSITY

● To date, the Federal government has disbursed RM300 million for the cause.
● 228 acres of land alienated by Kedah government for AIMST at a nominal premium of RM8 million.
● Special lottery draws approved by the Federal government.
● Each MIC branch was tasked to collect a minimum of RM11,000. (B Form issued for renewal of branches was held back for branches that did not collect the said amount).
● The party and its members organised numerous fundraisers, dinners, lucky draws, donation  campaigns and concerts to achieve their dream of having a university of their own.
● The man on the street who gave just RM1.