Manage financial resources of mosques, suraus with integrity, avoid corruption - Mohd Na'im

KUALA LUMPUR - All mosque committees need to ensure that their financial resources are managed with integrity, Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said.

He said every financial resource owned by mosques and suraus was entrusted to them by the public, especially members of the congregation, through contributions and donations.

"It must be spent and managed according to the rules and methods that have been set so as to avoid cases of misuse of power and misappropriation.

"We don't want to read news reports about certain mosque officials or committees brought to court on charges of corruption and misuse of power, which will certainly tarnish the image of institutions that should be examples of financial management with integrity," he said in a text read by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia director-general, Datuk Hakimah Mohd Yusoff, during the close of the Mosque Community Anti-Corruption Programme with the Malaysian Ulama Association at the Federal Territory Mosque, here today.

Also present were Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy chief commissioner Datuk Seri Norazlan Mohd Razali and Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department director Datuk Mohd Ajib Ismail.

Norazlan shared that the MACC has opened a total of 15 investigation papers involving Islamic religious institutions in Malaysia from 2018 until October this year.

He said the investigations were conducted on aspects of governance that could lead to corruption and related offences.

"The biggest risk for mosque institutions in financial management is corruption, conflict of interest, abuse of power and misappropriation.

"In addition to opening investigation papers, the MACC has also proposed as many as 64 recommendations for improvement on work procedures, guidelines and regulations to the institutions," he said.

Norazlan said today's programme has also seen the seventh Corruption-Free Pledge (IBR) involving mosque institutions implemented by the MACC since it was introduced on Jan 10, 2017.

In total, as many as 2,038 agencies comprising various ministries, departments, statutory bodies, educational agencies, government-owned companies, private companies, organisations, non-governmental organisations, financial institutions, religious institutions and others, have taken the pledge under the IBR initiative. - BERNAMA