Anwar orders full Felda report on proposed hotel sale at a loss

 The prime minister says he refused to sign the sale document after discovering that the hotel, bought for £160 million (RM867 million) was to be sold for £100 million.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Felda settlers needed money to improve facilities but Felda itself was ‘casually losing money’. (Bernama pic)

MELAKA:

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has directed the management of the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) to provide a complete report regarding the proposed sale of a hotel owned by the agency, which was allegedly at a price far lower than the original purchase price.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, revealed that he refused to sign the approval document for the sale after discovering that the hotel was to be sold for 100 million pounds (RM550 million), whereas it had been purchased by the previous management for 160 million pounds.

He also expressed regret over the loss-making sale proposal, considering that Felda settlers are still facing various hardships and require government assistance to improve basic facilities.

“Felda is under my watch. Two months ago, the Felda management came and asked me to sign for the sale of this hotel.

“I said, wait a moment, what kind of business is this? Selling at a price lower than when it was bought. So I did not sign. I said, find out who did this and submit a report.

“Felda settlers are struggling. When I visited (the settlers), they said they wanted air conditioning, schools to be repaired, and their income is insufficient.

“But Felda itself is just casually losing money,” he said in his speech at the “Semarak Kenegaraan Programme” with the armed forces at Terendak Camp here today.

Also present at the event were religious affairs minister Zulkifli Hasan, deputy defence minister Adly Zahari, Chief Secretary to the Government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar and army chief Gen Azhan Othman.

According to the prime minister, the move to request Felda to submit a complete report is to defend the agency as an important institution in Malaysia.

“If we don’t (do something), no matter how long, our agencies — including Malay agencies that we take pride in and want to defend — this is what will become of them. So we must correct that,” he said. - FMT