MCA: Selangor forcing KHSB to buy Talam land

MCA claims that Selangor is forcing one of its companies to buy assets, asking why it doesn't offer them to private companies.

AMPANG: MCA has alleged that the Selangor state government has been forcing one of its companies to buy former Talam Corporation land.

MCA Young Professionals Bureau chairman Chua Tee Yong claimed that Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Bhd (KHSB) was told to purchase RM44.7 million worth of assets.

Armed with supposedly KHSB board minutes, the Labis MP said that the company made a RM31.6 million counter-proposal, which would exclude Menara Pandan and Ukay Perdana properties.

He also claimed that KHSB was then “informed to accept” all the proposed assets at Selangor’s price, and that the government was not able to offer other assets, or settle the remainder due to KHSB on a short-term basis.

“[They're] probably trying to force KHSB to acquire all these assets at RM44 million to avoid any losses,” he told reporters.

He was speaking at the Ukay Perdana shoplot, which had been valued by Selangor at RM7.8 million.

Chua also asked why Selangor had been pressuring KHSB to accept these properties, when it could have offered them up to private, non-Selangor companies.

He said that according to Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, the land could be sold “immediately”.

He said that instead of making KHSB accept the land, he suggested that Selangor give this land back to Talam.

Chua said that this would be preferable, citing a recent claim by him that the state government had owed Talam as much as RM30 million.

“[They're] supposed to identify a land to give to Talam, because they owe Talam RM30 million, so instead of giving land, why can’t the.. Selangor government give this Ukay Perdana shoplot and Menara Pandan back to Talam, so that the amount owed to Talam is reduced?” he said.

Selangor, however, according to its state legislative assembly’s Hansard however does not appear to owe Talam RM30 million.

On Nov 9, 2010, Khalid told the State Legislative Assembly that the total revenue obtained from the Talam settlement was about RM422 million.

“If we add up the total of all the assets which we got, which is RM689 million, and we settle all our bank and property debts, which amount to RM266 million, the result of what we get is RM422 million.

“When this is settled, then we can give back to Talam RM30 million. It has not been paid yet… only after the RM392 million debt from Talam has been settled,” Khalid said.