KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Federal Territories PKR Youth wants Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman to explain his meeting with Cleo International amid allegations of bias and power abuse.
The group said revelations that Cleo’s owner Nur Fathiah Syazwana Shaharuddin was a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) member and that the company had been registered as a transportation and logistics firm have raised eyebrows as to its legitimacy as an eSports specialist and called into the question Nur Fathiah’s knowledge of the eSports landscape.
Malay Mail had also revealed yesterday that Cleo International is an entity that is barely a week old after checks with the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
The Esports Kuala Lumpur Association (ESKL) had alleged that they were stopped by the minister’s special officer from presenting its eSports development plan, while Cleo International and Orange E-sports were granted an audience with Syed Saddiq.
“The minister’s meeting with a company barely a week old has raised many questions concerning the criteria needed to form a cooperation with the ministry.
“The issue is further complicated when allegations that the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) has on many occasions refused to meet with ESKL to discuss its development plans,” AMK’s deputy secretary Juliyus Allen said in a statement.
The Youth wing highlighted the fact that Nur Fathiah had posted a picture on Instagram proudly stating she was a member of Segambut PPBM, but removed the post later that same day.
Nur Fathiah was welcomed to Segambut PKR by Sharifah Zohra Jabeen of “listen, listen” fame earlier this week.
It went on to question Nur Fathiah’s experience in handling matters related to eSports having registered the company as a transport and logistics firm, adding that the entire situation does not look good for KBS and goes against the Pakatan Harapan (PH) ideals.
“KBS should be more discerning when choosing a strategic partner to implement government initiatives as it involves millions of ringgit in hardworking taxpayers’ money.
“As such we urge Syed Saddiq to provide an explanation for his actions as soon as possible before this matter becomes more polemic and sows distrust in the people towards the ministry and PH,” the statement continued.
Nur Fathiah currently goes by the moniker “Cleopatra” on her Instagram account, and was referred to as such by Orange E-sports in its statement to Malay Mail last Tuesday.
She is one of Cleo International’s two directors. The other is one Mohamad Shahid A. Samad, 42, who shares the same residential address as her.
Nur Fathia received brickbats from some members of the public after a video of the meeting went viral on social media; there were (now-debunked) claims that she is Syed Saddiq’s personal assistant, a transwoman, and that she received a major contract from the ministry.
Orange’s parent company Esports Business Network Sdn Bhd told Malay Mail it was invited to the meeting by Cleo International to introduce a youth initiative to the Youth and Sports Ministry.
It further explained that its role in the meeting was solely to discuss the eSports planning and execution part of the programme, and it holds no further role in the project aside from being the service provider of the eSports pillar.
