Minister in charge of Islamic affairs Jamil Khir Baharom has denied helping himself to zakat money or Islamic tithes to build a palatial home mansion for himself and family. In the style of his Umno party, Jamli also rushed to offer to 'swear' or take a religious oath if his accusers did the same.
“Wallahi, I did not take zakat money. You can check with the Federal Territory zakat department and get a clean audit. I dare to swear if they dare,” Jamil Khir told reporters on Thursday.
PKR Youth deputy head Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin had recently challenged him to come clean on the mulit-million ringgit mansion. According to Khairul, Khir only earned around RM15,000 per month and obviously could not afford such a luxurious home on his pay alone.
"If he believes that as a person who holds true to religious principles and teachings, he should be responsible and honest enough to explain how he suddenly came to such riches. What did he have before and after becoming minister," Keadilandaily reported Khairul as saying.
Just renovations?
Indeed, Jamil's case harks back to the corruption charges pressed against former Selangor chief minister Khir Toyo, who was nabbed over a 'Bali Castle' allegedly worth RM24 million he bought for himself and family.
Nonetheless, Jamil refuted any wrongdoing, saying he had lived in the Kampung Batu Muda home since 1994 and renovations were paid for with his own money. There is talk amongst the blogs that Jamil is involved in businesses that have raked in RM3 to 4 million in revenue for him.
“I have lived there for 17 years and I do not know why it is now being raised. It is just renovations. I don’t want to prolong this issue. Before this I was not unemployed. My last post was as a Major-General with a pension and gratuity. Not up to RM1 million but it was enough,” he said, adding that the accusations were a desperate "political move".
