Dispute over donations highlights Brotherhood corruption in Malaysia
English - Tuesday 30 March 2021 الساعة 10:19 am
Malaysia, NewsYemen Special
Private sources in Malaysia uncovered a conflict within the leadership of the Yemeni community in Malaysia, which is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood.
The sources said that a dispute arose between the community leadership over the fate of donations collected in the name of the relief of the Yemeni people, as a relief campaign was launched Thursday, before last, in the name of "Help Yemen" in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to support those affected by the war in Yemen.
The campaign was launched by a coalition of major Malaysian relief and charitable organizations, with the aim of providing urgent assistance to the internally displaced Yemenis.
According to community sources and Yemeni residents in Kuala Lumpur, a dispute arose between the community leadership, and accusations were exchanged between them of seizing the donation funds.
These disputes were preceded by requests from members of the Yemeni community to the Community Monitoring Committee to clarify the course of the campaign and its fate.
This claim came in a letter sent by the Community Initiative for Members of the Community to the Community Control Committee, requesting that it provide it with information and reports on donation holders and prove their access to the beneficiaries.
This initiative was established in the context of the community’s demands to elect a new leadership for the community after the current leadership period ended more than 10 months ago.
This was referred to by the Sons of Yemen Forum in Malaysia in a letter to its president addressed to Ambassador Adel Bahamid in conjunction with the launch of the campaign.
As the forum raised to the ambassador the outcomes of the seminar held by the forum to present recommendations and proposals to reform the community’s situation.
Among these recommendations, the ambassador was asked to alert the body to the current administration of the community to announce the date for the election of a new leadership after it exceeded its legal term by more than 10 months.
Community sources confirmed that Ambassador Bahamid, who is considered one of the Brotherhood’s leaders, ignored these demands and supported the survival of the current leadership for fear of losing the Brotherhood’s control over it. The community is currently headed by Ahmed al-Hajjaji, a Brotherhood businessman accused of exploiting his position in the service of the group and his private business.
Confirming that what Al-Hajjaji is doing is completely identical to the behavior of Ambassador Adel Bahamid in exploiting the position for the benefit of the Brotherhood and sticking to it, as there are also suspicions of corruption around him.
The sources mentioned the donation campaign that Ambassador Bahamid launched with the Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs in November 2018.
The sources said that the fate of this campaign is still unknown to this day, as neither the amount of money collected nor its fate is known, and the Yemeni embassy in Malaysia did not publish any financial reports or information about the fate of this campaign, and it also rejected requests from the community.
The sources indicated that Ambassador Bahamid is leading strenuous efforts to prevent the decision to change him after the expiration of his term of office, which is 4 years, according to the diplomatic system.
The sources revealed that Ambassador Bahamid refused at the beginning of this month the request for a summons from Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak.
In late February, the minister summoned the ambassadors and attaches who had exceeded their legal period of 4 years, and gave them two months to prepare for their change.
According to the sources, the Brotherhood is exerting pressure on the minister to prevent the change of those affiliated with it, headed by Ambassador Bahamid.
The group insists on maintaining its control over the embassy, the leadership of the community and the various Yemeni entities in Malaysia, given the size of the Yemeni presence in this country and the political influence it reflects as well as the huge financial returns.
