PUTRAJAYA: The previous government had short-changed and forced the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) to sell 2,800 acres of its land at Sg Buloh at below market price of RM1.5 billion in 2010, said Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok.
"In October 2010, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government under former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had approved and instructed the sale of the land located in Sg Buloh, known as Lot 481, to Aset Tanah Nasional Bhd (ATNB) in a direct sale," she told reporters today at a press conference held here.
“MRB was arbitrarily paid RM1.5 billion, which is below the market price. And now, it has come to MRB's knowledge that the said 2,800 acres of land was subsequently flipped to KWASA Land for RM2.28 billion.
“MRB has, therefore, been short-changed by about RM800 million. MRB is lawfully entitled to the difference of RM800 million. Unfortunately, this sum is still unaccounted for, to date," Kok added.
Also present at the media briefing were Primary Industries Ministry deputy secretary-general (Plantation and Commodities) Ravi Muthayah, Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) chairman Sankara N. Nair, MRB director-general Datuk Dr Zairossani Mohd Nor and MRB deputy director-general (research & innovation) Dr Amir Hashim Md Yatim.
Kok noted the current MRB board had, in November 2018, reported this dubious transaction to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the National Audit Department for a thorough audit and further investigation.
Kok said the minister in charge of MRB back in 2010 was Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, who held the Plantation Industries and Commodities portfolio from 2009 to 2013.
When asked if MRB board members will be lodging a report against the previous Cabinet including Dompok, Sankara said he believed it will be a natural progression of MACC’s investigation.
"We believe the MACC will take it up in their investigations. We don’t need to lodge a specific report against Tan Sri Bernard Dompok,” said Sankara.
Sankara claimed the board members of ATNB seemed to be shrouded in secrecy and he had requested help for information from the Auditor General’s Office.
A quick search on Finance Ministry's website revealed ATNB is a majority-owned Minister of Finance Inc vehicle that accords the Finance Minister veto powers in the company board members' decision-making.
Subsequent to the land sale to ATNB, Kok said the Barisa Nasional government in 2010 had also instructed MRB to utilise the RM1.5 billion it received to develop the remaining 585 acres in Sg Buloh.
In 2012/2013, the then MRB board members had resolved to develop five facilities which included a new lab, an office tower, a discovery centre (museum), sports facility, and a SEDEC complex for technology transfer.
Zairossani, who currently sits in the MRB board with Sankara, said the project cost was tagged at RM1.1 billion and the appointed project development partners were KLIA Consultancy Services Sdn Bhd and KLIA Associates Sdn Bhd.
Since the project only achieved a five per cent completion after six years, Zairossani said the previous MRB board members decided to terminate the project in February 2018.
Apart from Zairossani and Sankara, the other 11 MRB board members are Primary Industries Ministry secretary-general Datuk Zurinah Pawanteh, Treasury representative Zuraidi Husain, RISDA representative Dato' Wan Ahmad Shabri Zainuddin Wan Mohamad, Smallholders representative Abdul Halim Hassan, Malaysian Estate Owners Association (MEOA) council member Dr Sivakumaran Seenivasagam, Malaysian SMR Rubber Processors Association (MSRPA) representative Datuk Harris Mathews, Federation of Rubber Trade Association Malaysia (FRTAM) president Tan Swee Hua, Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (Margma) president Low Jau Foo, Malaysian Rubber Products Manufacturers' Association (MRPMA) vice president Yeaw Kok Kwey and Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council (MREPC) chief executive officer Low Yoke Kiew.
Kok went on to say the current MRB board has lodged a report to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission on November 27, 2018 for breach of established MRB procedures which also resulted in about RM70 million in losses.
“Apart from this, the MRB board shall also proceed with disciplinary action against certain individual officers in MRB for wrongdoings,” she added.