PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak did not approve the purchase of an apartment block by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) in Australia, said Mara chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
Annuar said Najib, in a letter dated May 10, had opposed the purchase, and Mara duly appealed the decision, which was eventually approved by the Mara’s Economic Council.
Annuar’s statement came after he was reported saying at a press conference two days ago that the purchase was sanctioned by Najib.
“During the recent question-and-answer session, somebody claimed I said ‘yes’, that the PM had approved the purchase.
“Actually, after the proposed purchase was presented to the Finance Ministry, it did not get the approval of the PM. The Finance Ministry gave us a letter dated May 10 to inform that the purchase is not approved by the PM.
Annuar said Najib, in a letter dated May 10, had opposed the purchase, and Mara duly appealed the decision, which was eventually approved by the Mara’s Economic Council.
Annuar’s statement came after he was reported saying at a press conference two days ago that the purchase was sanctioned by Najib.
“During the recent question-and-answer session, somebody claimed I said ‘yes’, that the PM had approved the purchase.
“Actually, after the proposed purchase was presented to the Finance Ministry, it did not get the approval of the PM. The Finance Ministry gave us a letter dated May 10 to inform that the purchase is not approved by the PM.
“Following that, the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and Mara appealed the decision with the economic council.
“In the presence of Bank Negara and ministers, the council discussed the purchase more broadly, as it involved overseas loans. It was within the council that the purchase was approved.
“The council also only approved 30% of Mara’s funds to purchase the property. The remainder had to be borrowed from banks,” Annuar told reporters here after submitting documents relating to the purchase at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Annuar said Mara would cooperate with MACC in their investigations into the matter and appoint an external auditor to conduct a more “credible” audit on the council.
“We decided that the internal audit is not enough, so we will be appointing an international auditor so it is more credible,” he said.
It was reported in Australia that Malaysians linked to Mara overpaid developers for the five-storey apartment Dudley House by A$4.75mil (RM13.8mil) in 2013.
“We decided that the internal audit is not enough, so we will be appointing an international auditor so it is more credible,” he said.
It was reported in Australia that Malaysians linked to Mara overpaid developers for the five-storey apartment Dudley House by A$4.75mil (RM13.8mil) in 2013.
Also named in the reports were Mara Inc’s chief executive officer Datuk Halim Rahman and two Malaysian businessmen – Datuk Yusof Gani and Datuk Ahmad Azizi.
The daily’s report linked the men to a deal whereby Mara allegedly overpaid developers of Dudley International House, Australia by A$4.75mil (RM13.8mil) for the five-storey apartment block in the city in 2013.
The report claimed that Mara had paid A$22.5mil (RM65mil) when the asking price was A$17.8mil (RM51.4mil).
Mohammad Lan, who was contacted by the daily, reportedly said he “couldn’t recall” the Dudley House dealings although he admitted to being in Melbourne to inspect the property in May last year.
The former Sulabayan assemblyman also told The Age that he was involved in setting up offshore companies in tax havens as a “convenient” way of selling property bought by the Malaysian Government. But when the daily asked if he knew of any alleged kickbacks, Mohammad Lan ended the call.
The daily also alleged that Mara officials had also used other shelf companies in Singapore to buy properties in Queens Street and Exhibition Street in Melbourne’s Central Business District for around A$40mil (RM116.55mil).
An effort to meet Mohammad Lan proved futile as he was not at home when The Starvisited his Kota Kemuning house yesterday.
Not a soul was seen inside or in the house’s compound, with curtains covering the mansion’s windows.
Six cars were parked inside the compound but no one answered the doorbell.
A neighbour who wished to remain anonymous said he did not know where the Mara Inc chairman was, and declined to say more.
A worker who did not give his name said the house owner was probably in another part of the country.
“I don’t think he’s around. The whole house is empty except for the servants and the driver. The family is not around.
“Maybe he went back to Sabah,” he said.
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said it would start its probe into alleged corrupt practices in the deal.
“We will call them (Mara) to appear before the committee. I was informed that the matter is already under investigation by the Australian police and they have found a money trail,” said PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed when contacted yesterday.
He said the PAC probe would be independent of that carried out by the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigations.
