TH land deal: Who would pay more when others buy it cheap?

QUICK TAKE: If a news report quoting sources is accurate and reliable, then Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) appears to have made a blunder in the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) land deal. The Star reported on May 11 that a deal between Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) and 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) will see the government pension…

Putrajaya’s dodgy dealing to raise billions in secret

KINIBIZ Would you pay rental to yourself to use property that you already own for years – and have already long fully paid for at that? That is exactly what Putrajaya is doing, having paid some RM5.77 billion in rental over the past two-and-a-half years to use 186 land parcels it already owns. And it…

Rafizi: PNB threw 1MDB RM579mil lifeline

Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), a GLC set up to promote equity ownership among the bumiputra, was likely to have loaned RM579.2 million to debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). PNB is the investment arm of Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputra (YPB), a unit set up in 1978 to implement New Economic Policy objectives. Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak…

Tabung Haji land purchase – Lack of integrity, good governance and transparency

Trouble with ‘from left pocket into right pocket’ COMMENT On one account, Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Najib Abdul Razak should be lauded for helping Tabung Haji to make good returns overnight. There is no doubt that once Tabung Haji floats its prime land in the open market, there will be a number of bidders, be it…

’Proof’: Najib solely responsible for 1MDB, says Pua

Opposition wants PM to explain his clearly demarcated role in the scandal-ridden 1MDB. KUALA LUMPUR: The Opposition wants Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to immediately schedule an official Ministerial Statement in Parliament during the current sitting to give a full and complete explanation on “the mother of the mother of the mother of all scandals”…

Leaked documents show PM’s approval required for all deals under 1MDB precursor

KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — The prime minister has the final say over any “financial commitment” undertaken by 1 Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) precursor, Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), according to TIA’s Memorandum and Articles of Association agreement. Clause 75 of the agreement states that the management of the company and the determination of overall investment…

Malaysia fast becoming a fascist state

COMMENT The increasingly and desperate use of oppressive laws like the Sedition Act 1948 is evidence enough that Malaysia is fast becoming a fascist state. By fascism, is meant a system of government marked by oppressive controls, violent suppression of the opposition, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racist and religious extremism. Even…

Election Commission CANNOT dictate who we vote for

Can the Election Commission dictate who we vote for? QUICK TAKE: It may seem that the government wants to exercise control over every aspect of our lives as citizens in this fair land. When the Election Commission (EC) jumped at the suggestion by controversial lecturer Ridhuan Tee by stating that candidates must qualify by having…

The Tabung Haji trio with 1MDB links – Conflict of interest

Three top officials in Tabung Haji are directly involved with debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which raises the question of conflict of interest in a recent deal involving the two entities. Yesterday, Tabung Haji admitted that it is acquiring a plot of land in the Tun Razak Exchange site from 1MDB for a sum of…

Tabung Haji-1MDB ‘sweetheart deal’ puzzling

MP SPEAKS Following reports that Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) had purchased two plots of land in the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) development from 1MDB at exorbitant prices, the Muslim pilgrims’ fund responded with a statement clarifying that they had actually bought only one plot of land for RM188.5 million. According to LTH deputy group managing…