Perkasa tells Najib to delay decision on Pudu Jail developer

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Ibrahim says the controversy is a moral issue. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Malay rights group Perkasa has urged the prime minister to hold off approving UDA Holdings Bhd’s pick to develop its prized 7.8-hectare Pudu land in the city centre, saying there were moral issues with the decision that could risk the Najib administration’s credibility.

The right-wing Malay nationalist movement also wants the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate a blogger’s claim of misappropriation in the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project that UDA has valued to be between RM3 billion and RM4 billion.

An unknown blogger, who goes by the nickname “Alongku” (http://along-ku.blogspot.com/), had accused the finance ministry’s subsidiary yesterday of inflating the project’s worth to RM6.7 billion.

“Perkasa again urges the PM, who is also finance minister, to step in and postpone UDA’s decision for its preferred joint-venture partner from China to develop the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project on Pudu land,” Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali said in a statement.

“We hope the finance ministry is not fooled by certain parties from UDA,” he said.

Nur Jazlan, who is also Pulai MP, said yesterday he will submit the name of the company’s preferred partner to the ministry for final approval this week, but declined to reveal the name of the company or the number of candidates considered.

Ibrahim said the controversy was a moral issue even though there is no evidence of corruption.

He said it is generally known there are legal transactions but everything can be arranged “under cover”.

“It is the same as arrests using the ISA, that is the security forces know the movements of the individuals who threaten national security but are hard-pressed to get hard evidence and so detain them without trial under ISA as a preventive measure,” the Independent Pasir Mas MP said.