‘Only RM10 paid to settle Talam debts’

Chua Tee Yong cites 2009 documents regarding Talam's debts to Unisel and PNSB.

Patrick Lee, FMT

Two Selangor state-owned companies, according to the MCA, only received RM10 each from the Talam debt settlement exercise, despite being owed millions of ringgit.

Pointing to 2009 documents, MCA Young Professionals Bureau Chua Tee Yong said that both Universiti Selangor (Unisel) and Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB) were given these amounts.

This, he alleged, was despite Unisel being owed RM248 million and PNSB RM28 million.

“Assignment of Debt Agreement” documents dated Nov 3, 2009 read: “Now therefore this agreement witnesses… the sum of RM10 now paid by the assignee to the assignor.”

With this, Chua claimed that Unisel’s financial condition had worsened, and that PNSB was made to service a RM230 million loan with an RM86 million interest.

Asked if he knew of the current payment status to these two companies, he said: “You have to ask the Selangor government.”

The Labis MP also came up with new figures to the Talam matter, in a claim that the Selangor government over-valuated the Talam land.

He said that assets acquired through the debt settlement came up to RM676 million. Also, he included the total interest cost borne by PNSB (RM86 million) and a discount given to Talam by the state government (RM36 million).

Altogether, he estimated the cost of the Talam deal to be RM798 million.

In July, Chua started on several exposé against the Selangor government, claiming that the administration had used RM1 billion to bail out Talam Corporation Bhd.

He claimed that Selangor had done so via a RM392 million supplementary budget passed in the State’s Legislative Assembly in 2009.

Chua added that the state bought an additional RM676 million worth of assets from Talam.

Both Pakatan and the state vehemently denied these claims, and have since appointed independent audit firms to check the Talam matter in a show of transparency.