Rubber board confirms receiving offers for land

 

The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) today denied claims that it had disposed of two plots of prime land in Kuala Lumpur.

However, the board confirmed that it had received offers to buy the two plots, known as Lot 20012 and Lot 20013, both located along Jalan Ampang.

For Lot 20013, the MRB said that a tender was called in October last year to lease the land. London-based Al-Noor Foundation's bid was the highest.

This plot of land is located next to Gleneagles Hospital.

Lot 20012, on the other hand, was for sale. Offers, said the MRB, were still being evaluated by Putrajaya's Valuation and Property Services Department, Finance Ministry and the National Heritage Department.

"Therefore, the MRB stresses that there have been no lease agreements or sale that has been signed by anyone (involving the two plots of land).

"According to the rules, the valuation of the land must be referred to the Valuation and Property Services Department to determine the market price, which will result in the best returns for the board," the MRB said.

The MRB is chaired by Jerantut MP and Umno politician Ahmad Nazlan Idris. Two board members are PAS members - Nurul Islam Mohamed Yusoff and Muhammad Ismi bin Mat Taib.

The board comes under the purview of Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali.

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok

Meanwhile, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok urged Khairuddin to explain why the moratorium on the sale of MRB assets has been lifted.

Kok said that the moratorium was put in place when she was primary industries minister.

"To safeguard the assets of MRB, I informed the then chairperson to impose a moratorium, which he did, on the sales of all properties owned by MRB as I wanted MRB to go back to its core business principles and purpose - to carry out rubber research and not to deviate from it," Kok said.

She said when she left the cabinet with the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government, MRB had cash reserves of about RM1.5 billion. Therefore, Khairuddin must justify any move regarding MRB assets.

Kok also urged the authorities to investigate MRB's handling of the two plots of land along Jalan Ampang, stressing that any deal would require the permission of the cabinet. - Mkini