PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has questioned Lembaga Tabung Haji over its purchase of land at the Tun Razak Exchange from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
"1MDB paid RM194mil for 70 acres in the Tun Razak Exchange, but it is selling 1.5 acres to Tabung Haji for a reported RM188mil.
"Is this the way Tabung Haji uses the money entrusted to it by the people?
"1MDB paid RM194mil for 70 acres in the Tun Razak Exchange, but it is selling 1.5 acres to Tabung Haji for a reported RM188mil.
"Is this the way Tabung Haji uses the money entrusted to it by the people?
"Its contributors had hoped that their savings would be managed for their benefit but instead it is being used to rescue 1MDB which has lost billions of ringgit," Dr Mahathir said on his blog chedet.cc.
"It is sad that money is used to bailout 1MDB," he added.
The former prime minister urged Tabung Haji to cancel the deal as it is over paying for the land to help pay for 1MDB's debts.
Tabung Haji has defended the purchase saying it was not a bailout, that it was forking out RM188.5mil for the parcel of land while its fair value was RM194mil.
Deputy chief executive officer Datuk Johan Abdullah said the decision to buy the land went through the fund's "usual and strict investment process."
On Tuesday, blog The Benchmark had released a set of documents purportedly detailing the purchase of two plots of land at TRX at an unreasonably high price from debt-ridden 1MDB.
The purchases, claimed the blog, were made of one plot of land for RM194mil at RM2,860 per sq ft, and for RM578mil at RM3,900 per sq ft for the second piece of land.
On another matter, Dr Mahathir refuted claims that his administration had misused public funds.
"The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory board chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim said that he is ready to investigate Jho Low and Riza Aziz if I lodge a report but in truth others have already made reports and no investigations were done.
"If he is so concerned about corruption, he should investigate and prove that I misused the people's money," Dr Mahathir said.
The former prime minister urged Tabung Haji to cancel the deal as it is over paying for the land to help pay for 1MDB's debts.
Tabung Haji has defended the purchase saying it was not a bailout, that it was forking out RM188.5mil for the parcel of land while its fair value was RM194mil.
Deputy chief executive officer Datuk Johan Abdullah said the decision to buy the land went through the fund's "usual and strict investment process."
On Tuesday, blog The Benchmark had released a set of documents purportedly detailing the purchase of two plots of land at TRX at an unreasonably high price from debt-ridden 1MDB.
The purchases, claimed the blog, were made of one plot of land for RM194mil at RM2,860 per sq ft, and for RM578mil at RM3,900 per sq ft for the second piece of land.
On another matter, Dr Mahathir refuted claims that his administration had misused public funds.
"The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory board chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim said that he is ready to investigate Jho Low and Riza Aziz if I lodge a report but in truth others have already made reports and no investigations were done.
"If he is so concerned about corruption, he should investigate and prove that I misused the people's money," Dr Mahathir said.
PETALING JAYA: The members of Lembaga Tabung Haji board should be charged in court if they are involved in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) land deal said an Islamic scholar.
Perlis mufti Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said that Tabung Haji is an economic symbol for Muslims in the country and what was happening to it could bring down the dignity of the Muslims.
“The religious people cannot keep quiet. It is here, that the responsibility of ‘amar makruf and nahy mukar (enjoining good, and forbidding wrong) must be fulfilled.
“We are thankful that some of our country’s leaders have stated their concerns on it. Hopefully, a thorough investigation is able to bring those responsible for betraying the trust of the people to justice,” he said in a Facebook posting on Saturday.
Dr Asri also posted a picture of the three allegedly involved in the deal -Tabung Haji group managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, Deputy chief executive officer Datuk Johan Abdullah and a member of its investment panel Datuk Abdul Samad Alias.
Several Umno politicians have also questioned if there was any conflict of interest in the deal that has been making headlines the past few days.
On Thursday, Tabung Haji said that it was buying a plot of land in the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) from 1MDB at a discount of about 3% from the fair value of the real estate assessed by an independent valuation firm.
Tabung Haji defended the decision to purchase the land, saying the pilgrimage fund was forking out RM188.5mil for the 1.6 acre (0.64ha) parcel while its fair value was RM194mil.
Johan said the decision to buy the land went through the fund’s “usual and strict investment processes” involving its own valuation committee, the board, external independent valuation firms, and brought up to the ministry.
