JOHOR BARU: The audit process on the land transfer scandal over Felda's in Jalan Semarak land is expected to start tomorrow, said Felda chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad.
He said Felda would provide full cooperation in the process and if any wrongdoings are uncovered in the audit, stern action will be taken.
"There are two ongoing investigations in this matter; one by the police to investigate any criminal elements and another by the audit firm appointed by the Prime Minister's Department to investigate matters related to governance.
"We will not compromise on this matter as it involves land belonging to the government. If there are any wrongdoings, we want action to be taken, whether internally or by the police or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission," said Shahrir.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that an external audit firm has been appointed to conduct a forensic audit on Kuala Lumpur Vertical City (KLVC) project developed by Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd (SPSB) on the Jalan Semarak land.
Najib said the firm would implement forensic audit on all activities, decisions and actions related to the project and it will also involve the Kuala Lumpur Land and Mines Office and City Hall.
Shahrir said this is not the first time that Felda is facing an audit as the same was done when a former Felda general manager was suspended following the Felda transformation project probe.
"We consider the land transfer as a wrongdoing and we want the land back. For us, there was no need for the land to be transferred for the development of the project," said Shahrir.
He was speaking to the media after visiting the Desa Datuk Hajah Hasnah Ahmad here.
Berita Harian, in an exclusive report, broke the story that Felda was at risk of losing ownership of the piece of land worth more than RM200 million following what had been described as a “dubious deal” in 2015.
The plot of land, which has been earmarked for the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City (KLVC) development project, will feature seven towers, including Felda’s iconic tower, to be known as KLVC Tower 1A.
The ownership transfer of the land took place when FIC Sdn Bhd appointed SPSB as its main developer on June 3, 2014, and it was granted full power of attorney to develop the land.
On another matter, Shahrir said Felda will gather its settlers and other oil palm smallholders at the European Union (EU) Embassy on January 16 to protest the EU Parliament's decision to block the entry of palm oil biodiesel to EU nations.
"We will hand over a protest note which has about 100,000 signatures to not only the EU Embassy, but also to the embassies of EU nations.
"For us, the move would affect the price of the commodity, which in turn would affect the settlers and oil palm smallholders," said Shahrir.