KUALA LUMPUR, 8 Jan 2009: Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz resigned as the National Cooperative Organisation of Malaysia (Angkasa) president yesterday because he was disappointed that investigations into alleged misappropriation of funds in the organisation had yet to be completed.
Ungku Aziz, who held the president post since the establishment of the cooperative 37 years ago, said his resignation was not because of pressure from anyone.
“This is one hundred per cent my own decision. Two months I have been thinking about it (to resign) and I see no way, except to resign,” he told Bernama here today.
He said this when asked on his resignation as Angkasa president and also his refusal to accept nomination to the post at the organisation’s annual meeting at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre on 10 Jan.
A statement on Ungku Aziz’s resignation and decision not to accept the nomination was faxed to the media today.
The media had previously reported about the alleged misappropriation in Angkasa being handed to the police and the Malaysia Cooperatives Commission (MCC) on 23 Oct and 18 Nov last year, but investigations into the matter have yet to complete.
“They had plenty of time,” said Ungku Aziz, referring to the MCC’s investigations into the matter.
The crisis in the organisation started when Ungku Aziz, who is the founder of Angkasa, was sacked as its president last year through a no-confidence vote, but it was only for 43 days when MMC ordered Angkasa to retain him to the post.
Ungku Aziz said investigations into alleged misappropriation in Angkasa should be conducted seriously as it involved transactions worth RM20 million.
“For example, a member applies for a RM60,000 loan to do a project or built a house, but because of abuse in the administration, the person only gets RM30,000 to RM40,000. Who takes the rest of the money and how is the money divided among them?” he added.
Yesterday, former secretary-general of the Land and Cooperative Development Ministry Datuk Yidris Abdullah called on Ungku Aziz to step down following the crisis in the organisation.
Angkasa, which represented about 5,000 cooperatives, has about six million members and assets worth RM47 billion.
Asked on what he was going to do after this, Ungku Aziz said, “I’ve resigned and it is final. Now it is up to MCC and the police to investigate the allegation.” — Bernama
