KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) must come clean on the status of the piece of land in the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) that it had bought at a premium from 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), PKR’s Fahmi Fadzil said today.

The PKR Youth vice-chief pointed out that it has been nearly two months since LTH chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim publicly announced that offers have been made for the 0.66-hectare land and that a decision would be made within two weeks, which put the deadline at May 23.

“Yet until today, the Malaysian public has yet to be given a clearer picture as to what will happen to this piece of investment.

“Or has there been a U-turn in the board’s decision?” Fahmi asked in a statement.

He noted that Abdul Azeez had even claimed on May 9 that a potential buyer had offered RM188.5 million, the price LTH paid 1MDB for the TRX land and that the pilgrims’ fund would be able to make a profit of RM5 million.

Fahmi added that regardless of the outcome, LTH owes a public explanation to the Muslims who pay a compulsory contribution to the pilgrims’ fund in order to perform their haj. 

“Don’t you dare make a fool of the Rakyat,” the opposition politician said.

Fahmi’s questions on LTH follows parallels raised earlier today by a local business paper on interests expressed in the purchase of the TRX land and 1MDB’s other real estate parcels in Pulau Indah, Selangor and Air Itam, Penang.

In an editorial piece, The Edge Financial Daily said it is unknown if 1MDB has received actual proposals to buy the two land parcels or if the latter’s executive director, Arul Kanda Kandasamy, was merely announcing that they will name an independent consultant in the next two weeks.

“Did Abdul Azeez not say Tabung Haji was expected to make at least RM5 million profits when the land sale competed as early as end-May? The last we checked, a buyer has not been named,” the paper said.