It's not my firm, Ku Nan says after audit report highlights DBKL land flip

 

Former federal territories minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has refuted claims that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) sold land to his company.

Adnan said the company involved, Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP), belongs to the government.

He said this in response to a Mandarin TV programme which alleged that DBKL land was sold to Adnan's company in 2015.

YWP acts as a charity foundation but has also faced criticism for being allegedly used for political purposes.

Adnan was the chairperson of YWP by virtue of his position as the federal territories minister.

The National Audit Report 2019 Series 2, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, had criticised YWP for flipping a land belonging to DBKL.

Conflict of interest

Even though Adnan did not own YWP, the audit report said it found elements of conflict of interest.

The land involved is located at Lot 37890 along Jalan Radin Anum 1 in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.

The 1.052ha of mixed-development land was meant to be sold to Pinnacles Homes SP Sdn Bhd for RM30.48 million.

However, YWP had in 2013 proposed its own development on the land to the Kuala Lumpur mayor. The exact purpose of the development was not stated.

The Kuala Lumpur mayor, through the meeting minutes on Sept 23, 2013, then informed Adnan of the matter.

The audit report said the minister agreed with YWP's proposal and ordered a release letter be obtained from Pinnacle Homes.

The land was finally sold to YWP for RM30.48 million.

Same modus operandi 

However, on Sept 3, 2015, YWP flipped the land to Pinnacle Homes which was the original firm that was supposed to buy the land for a RM5 million profit.

"The minister was also the chairperson of company 152446-W (YWP).

"The executive director of company 152446-W and company 828584-T (Pinnacle Homes) was also the same person.

"Therefore, it was a conflict of interest that allowed the release letter to be issued to the mayor," it said.

The audit report said the same modus operandi was used by YWP for Lot 1248 and Lot 1254 along Jalan Imbi.

Together with the Jalan Radin Anum 1 land, it made RM13.69 million from the flip.

According to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) proceedings, YWP is not owned by the Federal Territories Ministry or DBKL but assist both entities in conducting social and welfare programmes.

The PAC was also not allowed to audit YWP as it was not considered a public entity.

Legal action

Issues of conflict of interest have plagued YWP which had also led to the Court of Appeal to quash approval for its development of land in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

Adnan maintained that he acted in the interest of the people.

"As a minister, surely I am responsible to approve decisions in the ministry and all of them were done based on the interest of the public, people and community at large.

"If it was for personal profit, money is not my goal," he said in a Facebook post.

He also warned of legal action against those who claimed that he owned YWP.

"When the audit report said the federal territories minister represented YWP, it does not mean that I own it or that I have a personal agenda.

"YWP elongs to the government and is not my personal right," he said.

Adnan was charged with accepting RM2 million in bribes from a developer in 2016 but was acquitted by the Court of Appeal. The prosecution is appealing the case.

 - Mkini