KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — Tan Sri Annuar Musa said he has agreed to freeze Pelaburan MARA Berhad’s (PMB) sponsorship plans after claims that MARA had sponsored the Kelantan football team.

According to Berita Harian, Annuar said he will abide by the suggestion made by Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to halt any MARA sponsorship deals for 2017, following the claims made by Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim that Annuar had denied.

Annuar, who is MARA chairman, also said that he will submit a full report to the Ministry, which oversees MARA affairs, on the government agency’s alleged sponsorship of The Red Warriors (TRW).

"We will submit all documents to the Minister for further consideration. We have to abide by the Minister orders because it is mandatory,” he reportedly said.

Tunku Ismail had claimed that MARA and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) were forced to fund the Kelantan football team.

"Since 2013, UniKL and MARA only bought the TRW’s commercial package which is a jersey advertisement, LED boards in each match, and a few other brands of TRW,” Annuar said.

"The budget for the Kelantan Football Association (KAFA) is RM16 million a year, while the (commercial) package is valued at RM 300,000. Can this be called a form of sponsorship?” he asked.