A FORMER assistant administrator with the Melaka State Education Trust Fund was remanded for allegedly siphoning off RM2.5mil meant for scholarships for poor students, Kosmo! reported.

The 31-year-old suspect is said to have used RM1.2mil for online gambling while the remaining amount is believed to have been spent on his lavish lifestyle.

“Investigations are focused on how the suspect managed to obtain the money meant for poor students or those eligible.

“Checks showed the trust fund received its money from two sources – the state government and Melaka Islamic Religious Council,” a source from the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) said.

The source added that the money was used by the suspect to buy luxury items such as a car, handbags, shoes, a Tissot watch and holidays in Thailand and Bali.

The suspect was arrested by the MACC on Thursday in Felda Menggong, Alor Gajah.

> Firemen in nine fire stations around the country were forced to borrow or use old torn fireproof suits after procurement for some 9,800 new ones were cancelled in 2017 and last year.

Metro Harian quoted a source as saying that the MACC seized 6,000 fireproof suits, worth RM13.5mil, from a store at the Salak Tinggi fire station procured by way of tender in 2016.

“The Fire and Rescue Department or the government had paid 98% of RM13.2mil to the supplier before the seizure was made,” the source said, adding that this came following a report lodged against the supplier of the items.

The source added that laboratory test confirmed that the fireproof suits used highly flammable polyester as the main material.

It said the procurement for some 3,800 suits were cancelled in 2017 and another 6,000 were called off last year.

Owing to this, the source said a fireproof suit is now shared between three or four firemen although it is ideal for a fireman to have two suits.

Department director-general Datuk Muhamad Hamdan Wahid said they were in the process of procuring new fireproof suits.

? The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.

