KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Malaysia could fetch at least RM1.6 billion for its consulate building in Hong Kong, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today after the MCA president insisted the value was much lower.
Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong asserted in Parliament yesterday the real estate experts in Hong Kong had assessed the property to be worth just HK$1.6 billion.
“This is different from the price of direct negotiation used by the previous government that managed to price the assets at RM1.1 billion.
“We have now an offer of RM1.6 billion, even before we started the open tender process. I am upset that he (Wee) does not know the difference between Hong Kong dollar and ringgit,” Lim said.
The minister then provided documents from the bidder — a law firm based in Hong Kong — that showed the exact purchase value to be RM1.68 billion to support his statement.
Lim asserted that an even higher price could have been reached had the building been sold via open tender, which he said Pakatan Harapan would employ to sell government assets in order to maximise returns for the country.
After his explanation, Lim challenged Wee to resign as MCA president to preserve what was left of the latter’s dignity.
Lim, who is DAP secretary-general, claimed that lying appeared to be typical for the Opposition.
“Now PAS, Umno say if they tell lies, that is allowed. It looks like MCA has also caught this lying disease,” he said.
