Felda: Najib must explain ex-aide’s role

The opposition wants to know if the listing proposal aims to serve the interests of a few.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat wants Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to explain the role of his former special officer Omar Mustapha Ong in the controversial move to list Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH).

Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin in his posting on the matter yesterday claimed that the person close to Najib was likely to cash in on FGVH’s public listing.

PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar said Putrajaya had yet to explain the allegation – also raised by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim – despite the rising anger over the proposal to list FGVH.

The Pokok Sena MP alleged that the Omar-linked Ethos Consultancy’s involvement indicated Putrajaya’s premeditated plan to exploit FGVH’s public listing with complete disregard for the settlers’ welfare.

“The move was done without prior consultation with the stakeholders and it was done without the consent of the Kooperasi Permodalan Felda (KPF),” he told FMT, referring to the rushed emergency meeting held by the body on Jan 5.

The meeting resulted in the appointment of Umno man Isa Samad as KPF chairman.

Settlers protesting against FGHV’s listing saw it as Putrajaya’s way of forcing KPF’s consent with regard to the move.

“Is there something that we don’t know when it comes to the the involvement of someone like Omar in this issue?

“Is this proof that the listing proposal is aimed at serving the interests of some people? Najib must explain,” said Mahfuz.

‘Settlers will be shortchanged’

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Felda matters Ahmad Maslan said the listing would make FGVH a blue chip company in global plantations.

However, the proposal met with opposition from the PAS-aligned National Association of Settlers (Anak), which claimed that the listing would shortchange some 200,000 settlers in Felda schemes across the nation.

Under the listing proposal, settlers would swap their 5% stake in Felda Holdings — which made RM760 million last year — for a 61% stake in FGVH.

Protesters, however, scored a minor victory following a temporary court order issued yesterday blocking the transfer of shares from the co-operative to the Felda’s investment arm.

Omar’s involvement was first raised by Anwar last year.

The PKR de facto leader had demanded disclosure on the fees paid to Ethos for its appointment as consultant.

He also asked how a firm like Ethos, with no expertise in the agriculture industry had been appointed as consultant to Felda’s commercial arm whose international subsidiaries lost some RM500 million up to 2010.

Najib’s fingerprints

PKR vice-president Tian Chua meanwhile said Ong’s presence in Felda through Ethos was a clear sign of “Najib’s fingerprints” in the deal.

The Batu MP echoed Mahfuz’s views that this showed Putrajaya never had any intention to consult settlers on the decision. He said Omar’s involvement showed Najib wanted full control.

“We can see to what extend he (Najib) wants his people controlling the deal just shows how much he wants to cash in on this,” he told FMT, adding that the prime minister must clarify the matter.

Omar, who is also an independent, non-executive director at Petronas, is the co-founder of Ethos, a management and strategic consulting firm.

Raja Petra, in his posting yesterday, also said that Omar advises Najib on his corporate moves and has been doing so even back in the days when Najib was still just the deputy prime minister.

“Omar Mustapha Ong is a member of Khairy Jamaluddin’s ‘Fourth Floor Boys’, the team that helped Abdullah Ahmad Badawi run the country when he was the prime minister. They not only ran the country. They ran it into the ground,” he added.