‘Support was for empty lots’
Letter given to youth leader was to help poor Malay traders, says Fong
KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun has clarified that the support letter issued to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia was not for additional lots, but for empty lots at the Ramadan bazaar in Jalan Masjid India.
Commenting on the Ramadan bazaar fiasco involving Bukit Bintang Pribumi Youth leader Mohd Noorhisyam Abd Karim, Fong said his letter was meant to urge Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to allocate remaining empty lots to poor and needy traders.
“Mohd Noorhisyam came to my service centre on May 31, saying he was representing 80 poor Malay traders who requested help to set up stalls at the bazaar.
“So I sent out the letter to DBKL saying I did not have any objection to the request and asked DBKL to consider it,” he said.
Fong was speaking to reporters after lodging a report over the matter at IPD Dang Wangi here.
He said DBKL then replied with two options – the empty lots would be offered through balloting among the 80 traders, or a new bazaar loca- tion would be opened at the nearby Wakaf Buta.
The reply, dated June 5, also stated that any decision would have to be accompanied with a written letter of support from Fong, who then responded to state that he had no objection to the first option.
The Ramadan bazaar scandal erupted after Mohd Noorhisyam was accused of misusing political connections to secure 80 bazaar lots for RM6,238.40.
He allegedly rented them out for as high as RM5,000 per lot through middlemen.
Fong reiterated that no money was exchanged between him and Mohd Noorhisyam, adding that he understood the 30 lots eventually released by DBKL did not require fees from the traders as they were sponsored.
He said according to Mohd Noorhisyam, the lots were paid for with a private donation.
However, Fong did not know the identity of the donor.
He said the practice of support letters by MPs was not unusual.
“As an MP for over 20 years, I have issued thousands of support letters for various issues, including social welfare,” he said.
Fong will lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission today.