Like it or not, Prime Minister Najib Razak's fingerprints are all over the latest Umno corruption scandal to be exposed - a Ministry of Defense privatization scam involving Selangor Wanita Umno chief Raja Ropiaah Raja Abdullah, carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan, a proposed but still uncompleted defense research center and land worth RM400mil at current prices.
The 40-year-old Deepak, a good friend of Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor, turned 'whistle blower' on the first couple when his firm Astacanggih Sdn Bhd found itself "robbed" of a portion of the land it had bought. from Raja Ropiaah's Awan Megah (M) Sdn Bhd. The land had been privatized by the Defense Ministry to Ropiaah's firm.
"Without Najib's OK, Raja Ropiaah would not have been awarded the deal by the Ministry of Defense,"Deepak told Malaysia Chronicle.
Bypassed the Cabinet
According to Deepak, Najib bypassed the Cabinet when he later also approved Ropiaah's request to transfer the land titles from Awan Megah to a nominee company so as to facilitate the sale to Astacanggih.
"This is an abnormal clause and since the land is government owned, Najib should have sought the Cabinet's approval. But he directed his staff to issue a letter of approval to allow the titles to be transferred to Cebur Megah Development Sdn Bhd (the nominee firm). You could say he exceeded his authority," said Deepak.
To support his claims, Deepak showed copies of letters and a police report he has lodged against Raja Ropiaah and her company. Among the letters is one from Awan Megah dated 25 Sept 2006, signed by Ropiaah as chairman of the firm and addressed to Najib as the Minister of Defense. In this letter, Ropiaah sought permission to have the titles transferred to Cebur Megah which she assured was 100% owned by Awan Megah.
Najib's initial and instruction to the ministry's Deputy Chief Secretary Abu Bakar Abdullah can be clearly seen on the letter - En Abu Bakar, TKDU, Saya tiada halangan dengan permintaaan ini. Sila uruskan secara rasmi (Mr Abu Bakar TKDU, I have no objection to this request. Please attend to the necessary).
The Ministry of Defense followed through with Abu Bakar issuing a written approval to Awan Megah via a letter dated 6 November 2006.
"These letters are all public information. We are suing Awan Megah, the Ministry of Defense and the Pejabat Tanah dan Galian and all these documents have already been filed in court. There is no question of any breach of confidentiality, just a lot of 'fishiness' from some people," Deepak said.
No open tender, only 20% built
Indeed, the entire deal appears murky. Firstly, despite Ropiaah's lack of experience in defense matters, her firm was awarded the RM100mil project to build Puspahanas or Pusat Pengajian Pertahanan Nasional in 2005.
According to Deepak, there was no open tender called by the Ministry of Defense, which was headed by Najib at that time.
"You cannot say Ropiaah won the contract. There was no open tender in the first place. Her Awan Megah was awarded the deal even though she did not have any experience at all in defense research," said Deepak.
Puspahanas was meant to be a research centre akin to Britain's MI5. Under the privatization plan, Awan Megah was to build the centre and in exchange, the Ministry of Defense would grant the firm 3 parcels of land in Bukit Raja, Selangor worth about RM72 mil or RM7psf. However, till now, only about 20% of Puspahanas has been built.
Najib was then also the Deputy Prime Minister while Abdullah Badawi was the prime minister.
Wake up Najib, Deepak threatens to reveal more details
Deepak - whose firm Astacanggih had contracted to buy over all 3 parcels of land from Ropiaah at RM12 psf or about RM120 mill - is crying foul because the deal is "stuck" and he is unable to develop the land as he had planned to do.
To make matters worse, according to him, Ropiah has sold one of the parcels to another party GuppyUnip Sdn Bhd for RM2 million in cash and a RM16 million overdraft facility as part of a “joint-venture” with the plastic-ware firm.
Deepak says he initially appealed to Najib to intervene and speed up the transfer of titles. But due to Najib "irresponsibility" and "not doing anything", he was forced to lodge a police report in July.
"I will be revealing more details as soon as they are ready. It is to Najib's best interests to clear up the matter as he is directly involved," said Deepak, who has also accused a member of Najib's family of taking millions in 'commission' for sanctioning the privatization.
Deepak's firm is also suing the Ministry of Defense, the land and mining office Pejabat Tanah dan Galian, Raja Ropiaah and Awan Megan for specific performance, not releasing the titles and for "stealing the land".
Deepak declined to reveal how much losses he has incurred over the privatization deal but according to sources familiar with the transaction, he may have lost as much as RM30 to 40 million to Raja Ropiaah's firm.
"She walked away with 30 to 40 million of his money," the source alleged.
Corruption scandals dog Umno's glamorous women leaders
The flamboyant Wanita leader, known for her glamorous dressing, has declined to comment but said she would be referring the matter to her lawyers.
"At this point, I don't wish to comment but will let my lawyers handle it. Deepak has been going around saying all sorts of things. We want to know what his accusations are and take the next step from then on," Raja Ropiaah toldMalaysia Chronicle.
In April, Ropiaah was appointed Senator by Najib, the Umno president, amid public pressure to sack Wanita chief Shahrizat Jalil, who had also lost her Women's Minister post after she was accused of massive corruption in the 'cows-and-condos' RM250 mil NFC debacle.
For months, the Umno women's wing, which is now holding its annual congress in Kuala Lumpur, has been abuzz with talk that Ropiaah is slated to replace Shahrizat. Although, the post is elected, Wanita delegates who vote have traditionally taken the cue on who to pick from the party's top leadership even though that would mean following the wishes of the main Men's wing.
"As for Raja Ropiah, she is just like her mentor Shahrizat Jalil. The difference is that Shahrizat didn't put her name on anything but Ropiaah did," said Deepak.
Malaysia Chronicle
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