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| Wong Kah Woh |
Sale of Lot 41 to fund 1MDB rationalisation plan — PAC
BERNAMA
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13): The sale of Land Grant 18335, Lot 41, Section 51 in Kuala Lumpur (Land Lot 41) to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) by the government through special vehicle company Hartanah Mampan Sdn Bhd was for the purpose of funding of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)’s rationalisation plan.
According to Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh, the acquisition price of RM2.07 billion was made by BNM on Dec 19, 2017 (RM1.035 billion) and Dec 27, 2017 (RM1.035 billion), with the proceeds of the sale used to fund 1MDB’s rationalisation plan on Dec 31 of the same year.
The PAC, whichheld proceedings on the land issue on Sept 20, among others, concluded that BNM did not plan to purchase Lot 41 before the offer was made by the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
“The Lot 41 acquisition plan did not exist in BNM's annual strategic planning for 2015 to 2017 despite BNM stating that the purpose was to develop a financial services education hub in the long term,” Wong said in a statement on Monday (Dec 13).
He added that three witnesses called to the proceedings were deputy Auditor General (Performance) Patimah Ramuji, Treasury secretary-general Datuk Asri Hamidon and BNM governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus.
In its findings, the PAC also found that BNM did not conduct adequate due diligence in the purchase of Lot 41 apart from BNM's board of directors making the decision to purchase Lot 41 in nine days after discussions with the MoF on Aug 15, 2017 and three days after the offer was made by the MoF on Aug 21 of the same year.
“The acquisition transaction was completed in a short period of four months. All these raised doubts on whether BNM was under pressure from the government in making a decision,” according to Wong.
The PAC also concluded that the acquisition of Lot 41 amounting to RM2.07 billion — based on an evaluation carried out by Tetuan Suleiman & Co — was high.
“The evaluation of the Malaysian Property Services and Evaluation Department based on the status of the existing ownership status — namely land usage category ‘none’, real condition ‘none’ and the institutional zoning with a plot ratio of 1:2 — was RM1,421,650,000,” Wong said.
He added that the acquisition payment price of RM2.07 billion was inappropriately carried out without earlier changing the land use status from "none" to "building" and the breaking of the boundaries/subdivision part-owned by the Malaysian Space Agency.
Therefore, the PAC proposed that it is important for BNM to be able to make decisions on its investment and development independently without being influenced by other parties while respecting land sale transactions that are profitable for the government.
The central bank also needs to quickly resolve the issue of changing the land use category and subdivision of Lot 41 apart from thorough planning to optimise the use of Lot 41, he said.
According to Wong, the issue of land is part of the findings of the National Audit Department in the Auditor-General’s Report Year 2019 Financial Statements and Compliance Audit of Federal Agencies tabled in Parliament on Dec 10, 2020.
