A tale of 'victimisation' under Pempena

Another allegation has surfaced against the scandal-rocked Tourism Malaysia subsidiary Pempena which was recently accused of embezzling public funds.

The latest allegation concerns the 'victimisation' of a successful entrepreneur.

Melia Majilis, a former Subang Umno Wanita chief and mother of eight, said she started a travel agency 25 years ago with a multi-million price tag only to see it 'obliterated' by Pempena later.

Melia Travel Sdn Bhd was a successful travel agency. An audit conducted by Pempena accountants estimated that the agency was estimated to be worth RM2.5 million at that time.

Relating her ordeal via an email to Malaysiakini, Melia said on March 25, 1997, she received a letter of invite from Pempena to join a proposed consortium of bumiputera travel agencies named Malaysian Travel Bureau Sdn Bhd (MTB).

This initiative was meant to boost, develop and enhance the performances of bumiputera tour companies.

Share-swap deal

The idea was proposed by then tourism minister, Sabaruddin Chik who later approved the injection of RM87 million acquired through the sale of two of Tourism Malaysia owned hotels, Tanjung Jara Resort in Terengganu and Langkawi Island Resort, into MTB.

Pempena was given the task of spearheading the project under the directorship of its then managing director, the late Zainuddin Mohd Zain. RM20 million was allocated as a start-up capital for MTB.

Thirty-one bumiputera travel agencies, including Melia Travel, were invited to participate in the project but only two were selected - Melia Travel and Terengganu-based Massukma Travels and Tour Sdn Bhd.

Tourism Malaysia then offered to purchase Melia Travel via a share swap deal and Melia jumped at the offer, thinking it would secure her a promising future given that it was a government-based enterprise.

The share-swap agreement was sealed on May 29, 1997 and Melia acquired one million MTB shares which was selling at RM2.50 per unit at the time.

Part of the agreement was also to appoint Melia as chief executive officer (CEO) and director of MTB and that she would have to resign from her position as director of her company.

On July 30, 1997, Melia tendered her resignation and was simultaneously appointed as CEO of the consortium and everything was going as planned... or so she thought.

Trouble brews

Trouble began to brew when Melia discovered that various alleged financial irregularities were taking place in MTB.

Among others, she claimed that RM4 million 'vanished' from MTB's RM20 million start-up capital and pointed the finger at former managing director Zainuddin.

"Zainuddin had total control of the accounts, something which I did not agree to, and there were documents that led me to believe that RM4 million was misappropriated by him," she said.

Melia furnished Malaysiakini with documents to support her allegations and one of this is a bank statement dated Aug 25, 1997 which showed that the RM4 million was credited into MTB's Arab Malaysian Bank account (now AmBank) and RM3.8 million was withdrawn the same day.

She further alleged that there was no documented evidence to trace where the money went.

Apart from this, Melia also accused Zainuddin of making payments to finance his close associates in Pempena on luxury overseas and local trips.

"They were flying overseas in first or business classes, staying in five-star hotels, traveling in luxury cars, traveling as if on business when actually on vacation with cronies," she alleged.

Forced to shut down

When it was known that she had learnt about these alleged irregularities, Melia claimed that Zainuddin had planned to 'silence and oust' her.

"Knowing that I knew about it, Zainuddin planned a way to oust me from MTB and replace me with his cronies," she said.

Melia claimed that Zainuddin made her life difficult when she and her staff were refused any financial aid to operate Melia Travel's office which was being used as MTB’s branch in Damansara.

At this point, Melia wrote a letter to other MTB directors appealing for financial aid and subsequently the board approved RM500,000 in financial support for Melia.

This decision was however overturned by Zainuddin and the situation worsened for Melia.

"I had to pay for everything on my own. My staff did not get their salaries, Zainuddin and Pempena did not authorise any fiscal aid, so it (the agency) had to be shut down," she lamented.

Part 2 will be published tomorrow.