PUTRAJAYA: The five Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) officials implicated in the alleged mismanagement and power abuse of Mara Corporation Bhd have been summoned to meet graft investigators today.

       They are among 17 individuals who will be called in for their statements to be recorded in the days ahead.

       “The five officials have an appointment with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

       “Over the next few days, investigators are also expected to call up four Mara Corp directors, four Mara officers, representatives from three banks and an officer from the Companies Commission,” said a source familiar with the investigation.

       A letter was recently posted online highlighting alleged wrongdoings of five Mara officers and contained a list of “backdated” payments that they allegedly received.

       The officials filed police reports on Feb 6 denying any wrongdoing, claiming the complaints against them were a “distraction”.

       Sources said that investigators had busied themselves with the case since a complaint was lodged on the matter and had already questioned 14 witnesses since Tuesday.

       It is learnt that these 14 witnesses included four Mara Corp board members and the company secretary.

       On Monday, MACC officers raided three locations at Jalan Mara, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Bukit Bintang as they began the probe.

       Among documents seized were said to be proposal papers and minutes of board meetings, financial documents and payroll, and documents from the human resources department.

       Mara Corp, an investment holding company of Mara, came under spotlight after internal administrative documents were leaked.

       It was reported that the letter was said to have been written at the request of Mara chairman Datuk Seri Azizah Mohd Dun for an integrity enquiry into officers who had been “loaned” to Mara Corp in a cross-fertilisation programme.