No Felda hotel sale proposal when I was chairman, says Shabery

Ahmad Shabery Cheek says Felda has four properties in London and none was individually purchased for £160 million (RM867 million).

Ahmad Shabery Cheek, who stepped down as Felda chairman in June, said he was concerned that the prime minister might have been wrongly advised on the purported sale. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Former Felda chairman Ahmad Shabery Cheek says no proposal to sell any of the agency’s hotels in London was submitted during his tenure, which ended in late June.

Shabery said Felda owned four properties in London, comprising two hotels and two student accommodation properties.

“Not a single application to sell a Felda hotel in London was made while I was at Felda. I don’t know if there was one after I left,” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian.

None of the four properties had been purchased individually for £160 million (RM867 million), he said in response to reports quoting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as questioning the sale of Felda hotels.

“I am concerned that the prime minister has been wrongly advised or that someone is trying to take advantage,” Shabery said.

Shabery said the details of Felda’s four London properties should be clarified to avoid confusion between the value of an individual property and that of the overall portfolio.

He added that decisions on selling Felda assets required directives from the government, including the finance ministry and an advisory committee to the Prime Minister’s Department.

On Friday, Anwar said he refused to approve the proposed sale of a Felda-owned hotel for £100 million (RM550 million) after being told it had been purchased by the previous management for £160 million.

Anwar, who is also finance minister, said the Felda management approached him two months ago for approval for the sale.

He has ordered a full report on the matter, saying Felda should not be losing money while settlers continue to struggle with insufficient income and inadequate basic facilities. - FMT