KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad signed off on a government report recommending Putrajaya acquire, and not buy, the financially non-viable Pulau Indah land for the Port Klang Authority (PKA), the High Court here heard today.
The October 23, 2002 report prepared by the Finance Ministry, headed by then-Prime Minister Dr Mahathir, pointed out the land had many encumbrances and caveats and suggested the government use the Land Acquisition Act instead.
Former Treasury deputy secretary-general Datuk Abdul Rahim Mokti, who helped prepare the report, said landowners Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) and Koperasi Pembangunan Pulau Lumut Bhd (KPPLB) had used the land as collateral for loans “many times”.
He told Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik’s cheating trial KDSB alone had mortgaged the land six times and owed banks some RM380 million.
Abdul Rahim also said Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Shamsudin Hitam had also recommended that the land be acquired in a June 19, 2001 letter to his counterpart in the Transport Ministry as it was cheaper and easier option than buying it.
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