Yesterday, Ng Peng Hay, chairman of Koperasi Jayadiri Malaysia Berhad (or Kojadi), alleged that MCA president Wee Ka Siong had stopped him from meeting officers of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over 1MDB-linked funds, a charge the party has since dismissed.

Ng had earlier revealed that the co-op had received a “financial grant” of RM15 million from Yayasan 1MDB in 2012 to implement a socio-economic micro-credit scheme.

Najib revealed today that funds for the scheme came from both 1MDB, which is a government investment arm, and other corporate sponsors.

The former prime minister said the money for the scheme had nothing to do with 1MDB-linked money alleged to have been deposited in his personal account.

“Which is why till now MACC has not demanded that Kojadi return the grant,” he said in a Facebook posting referring to the announcement of a list of 41 names against whom civil asset forfeiture proceedings were being sought.

Najib then accused the DAP of using the issue to attack the MCA, including lodging a police report.

He said if the Pakatan Harapan administration considered funds from a government agency to be illegal and demanded the return of such funds, many recipients would stand to lose.

This included some 57,000 taxi drivers who received a RM520 annual subsidy; 5,711 pilgrims who were sponsored for the haj, thousands of recipients of the Nadi Kasih scheme which was set up to repair homes of the poor, 55,574 fishermen who received grants through their association, and thousands of students who received educational aid.

“The RM15 million grant to Kojadi was used to provide educational loans for students and for a micro-credit scheme.

“It is not like a RM305 million fee for a private company to prepare reports of a mysterious tunnel project in Penang which has yet to be completed after six years,” he said in a veiled jab at the amount paid to Consortium Zenith, for a feasibility study on an undersea tunnel in Penang.