KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — Kelana Ventures Sdn Bhd (KVSB) has told The Edge Financial Daily that it is the private company behind a land exchange deal with the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in a case that has been raised to the attention of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The company, owned by Malaysia’s 12th richest man Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, denied the paper’s news report last Friday that cited anonymous sources claiming KVSB’s deal with Mindef was politically motivated and had caused the ministry to lose RM258 million by selling its airbase in Puchong, Selangor at a 34 per cent discount.
KVSB said the news report was “erroneous and misleading” and “does not reflect the true nature of the arrangement between KVSB and the ministry of defence”, The Edge reported today.
The Johor-based real estate development and investment services company reportedly said the 41.2-hectare Puchong land is valued at RM500 million, but does not include the premium that has to be paid for future conversion of its use to either residential or commercial purposes and other conditions that may be imposed by the Selangor government.
According to the paper, KVSB clarified in a letter that it had yet to sign an agreement with Mindef on the land swap deal, in which the company is to build three facilities totalling RM499.9 million for the military.
One of them is for a new RM280.7 million army camp Kem Paloh in Kluang, Johor, the company said, adding that construction there has begun—at the ministry’s request.
The other two facilities are for the construction of a new RM137.3 million logistics management training centre in Sendayan, Negri Sembilan for RM137.3 million and a new air force base at Kementah in the national capital city costing RM81.9 million.
A complaint over the land swap deal was filed with the MACC by a Mindef special officer Mohd Nasasie Ismail last Thursday.
Nasaie had alleged political meddling in the land swap involving the development of two military camps, the one in Johor and another Hutan Melintang, Perak, when Barisan Nasional was the government.
Both camps are located within the federal seats of Sembrong and Bagan Datok, which are held by which is held Umno’s Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi respectively.
Nasaie claimed that the land swap deals were used to bolsters voters for Hishammuddin and Zahid.
Last Tuesday, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said internal investigations into the 16 land swaps valued at an estimated RM4.9 billion found that at least RM500 million was indirectly lost through their valuations.
In early April last year, former minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz publicly alleged that land belonging to the Armed Forces had been swapped by a company supposedly under the control of three key individuals.
Shortly thereafter the ministry responded with a statement, denying this was the case and saying various measures were used for the development projects, which include privatisation through land-swapping deals.
