KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said today that it will scrutinise Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) following news reports alleging corruption in the government agency's property purchase in Australia.

PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said MARA would be summoned at the end of next month to look at their policies on property investment overseas.

"PAC will call up MARA for them to explain the purchase of property overseas, especially in Australia," Jazlan told a press conference today, without specifying who from MARA would be summoned.

MARA Inc chairman Datuk Mohamad Lan Allani and chief executive Datuk Abd Halim Rahim were recently told to take a leave of absence to facilitate investigations into the controversial purchase of a student housing block in Melbourne, Australia.

The police said last month that they will only investigate MARA Inc’s purchase of Dudley House if the transaction is found to involve criminal breach of trust and that the probe lies solely with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

MARA and its property investment body, MARA Inc, have come under fire over property purchases in Melbourne after Australian daily The Age exposed links between top MARA officials and certain businessmen said to have connections with the ruling Barisan Nasional in the Dudley House buy.

According to the Australian daily’s exposé, MARA Inc had allegedly overpaid A$4.75 million (RM13.8 million) for Dudley House, with the sum purportedly used as a form of kickback.