In a statement today, Yawas general manager Gan Pei Nei said the Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) report titled “Foundations and Donations: Political Financing, Corruption and the Pursuit of Power” has given an unfair and incorrect impression of the foundation by listing its name in the appendix of the report, in connection with the 1MDB scandal as well as several other corruption cases involving Umno/Barisan Nasional politicians.

“The reporting and listing of Yawas without any facts and reviews from us has created a false and negative perception towards the Yawas management.

“This further affects the image of the Selangor state government which has been managing state resources transparently,” Gan said.

She added that the foundation’s management adhered to the corporate governance as set by Selangor state laws and procedures established by the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

Further, she said the foundation’s annual financial statements were audited by external auditors and monitored by the internal audit department of the MBI.

“In fact, the audit conducted by the National Audit Department in 2018 found the management of Yawas to be at a satisfactory level.

“C4’s allegations against Yawas are baseless and have tarnished the reputation of government institutions in Selangor.

“As an NGO that supposedly practices the value of transparency, C4 has done something very irresponsible. On the principle of fair reporting, the section concerning Yawas in the C4 report must be withdrawn,” she added.

The C4 report explores the connections between donations to foundations and political financing in Malaysia. It also shows how charitable foundations are abused by politicians.