1MDB NO MONEY TO REFUND TABUNG HAJI? Why advise TH to sell land & not terminate deal - Tony

Instead of advising Lembaga Tabung Haji to sell the controversial land purchased from 1MDB, the Prime Minister should demand that 1MDB terminate the transaction and refund the RM188 million received

Over the past few days, the Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) bailout of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) via the acquisition of a 1.56 acre piece of land for RM188 million has touched the raw nerve all Malaysians. In particular, poor Muslims who have painstakingly entrusted LTH to manage their funds in order to perform their pilgrimage to Mecca have been unscrupulously betrayed.

The political and public backlash is so severe that previously loyal Ministers of Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s administration have publicly spoken up against the controversial transaction and demanding that 1MDB be subjected to more stringent investigations and scrutiny. Practically all senior members of the Cabinet raised their arms in protest, including Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Defence Minister and UMNO Vice-President, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and UMNO Youth Chief, Khairy Jamaluddin.

In a desperate attempt to douse the raging fire, Datuk Seri Najib who is also the Finance Minister, pledged to UMNO Division leaders that “he will not protect those involved” if there was any wrongdoing. In addition, instructed Lembaga Tabung Haji to immediately dispose of the land it has just bought.

The Chairman of LTH, Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim immediately followed up to announce that the land would be sold the following week. He even committed that the land will be sold to a buyer at a profit of at least RM5 million and will be concluded within the next few weeks.

The entire imbroglio has developed to become Malaysia’s most farcical circus. Malaysians are up in arms because the Directors and top management of the pilgrimage fund have abused RM188 million to rescue 1MDB, which is drowning in its RM42 billion debt burden. 1MDB has been desperate to dispose of assets in order to generate cashflow to repay its annual RM2.5 billion interest servicing commitment.

What made the controversy unbearable was that 1MDB sold land it bought from the Federal Government 4 years ago for less than RM64 per square feet to LTH for RM2,773 per square feet, making an outsized 43 times returns at the expense of the pilgrimage fund.

Hence the fact that LTH plans to on-sell the plot of land next week is irrelevant to the fact that 1MDB has been bailed out by the pilgrimage fund. 1MDB ended up the winner because regardless of whether LTH is successful in on-selling the piece of land for a profit or otherwise, it has collected the RM188 million in cash which would be immediately utilised to repay its mounting interest commitments.

Why should LTH basically undertake the entire risk of holding the land on behalf of 1MDB to look for a buyer? Why couldn’t 1MDB have found the alleged willing-buyers who were not only so readily available, they are allegedly willing to pay RM5 million more than what LTH has paid?

Hence the assurances from both Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and the LTH Chairman, Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim not only fails the logic test, they are not at all credible.

Since they are indeed able to find 3 potential buyers within 24 hours who are willing to acquire the land from LTH, then Dato’ Seri Najib Razak should not be instructing LTH to dispose of the land.

Instead, as the responsible Finance Minister, he should demand the cancellation of the 1MDB-LTH transaction, as well as to instruct 1MDB to refund the payment made by LTH and to negotiate with these 3 potential buyers directly. There is absolutely no necessity to involve and abuse the funds of the Muslim pilgrims.

Tony Pua is MP of PJ Utara