An opposition party lodged a police report today over the inconsistent figure attributed to donations by financial and insurance companies, in a trust fund set up by the government in aid of the Nipah virus outbreak victims in Bukit Pelandok, Negeri Sembilan, two years ago.

DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock who lodged the report at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur said there was a difference between the amount disclosed by two MCA leaders and the official figure.

According to Kerk, former deputy finance minister and MCA central committee member Wong See Wah and MCA headquarters administration director and Parliament deputy speaker Lim Si Cheng had indicated that RM10 million was collected from these companies.

However, when Kerk had raised the issue twice in Parliament, he was told on both occasions that the companies had donated only RM6 million.

"Wong had told a press conference last year that he had collected RM10 million from these companies when he was the deputy finance minister," said Kerk

"Whereas, the deputy speaker told reporters around the same time that the RM10 million did not belong to a similar fund set up by MCA," he added.

Both these statements indicate that RM10 million was donated by the companies concerned, but the finance ministry's parliamentary-secretary Hashim Ismail informed me in parliament last year that the records showed that only RM6 million was donated, said Kerk.

He added that in March this year, he had raised the issue in Parliament once again and received a written reply from the Finance Ministry confirming that RM6 million was donated by 136 finance and insurance companies.

"As the government had confirmed the figure twice, there is a very clear discrepancy in numbers," he said.

"We also urge the donors to check whether their donations had been put into the fund," Kerk said, adding that he has the list of the 332 donors, including companies and individuals.

Thorough investigation

Kerk also called on the police to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the matter.

When asked why he waited this long before lodging a report, Kerk replied that he was gathering information.

Last year, following accusations that the JE Humanitarian Fund set up by MCA was being abused, an investigation team comprising the Bukit Pelandok Nipah Outbreak Committee, local leaders, pig farmers and also volunteers in the district of Port Dickson probed into the matter.

The team discovered that several beneficiaries of the RM16 million fund included individuals who were neither victims of the Nipah virus nor the affected pig-farmers.