Gov't urged to freeze Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan land

The federal government has been urged to freeze all transactions involving properties owned by Umno-linked Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan.

This is pending an explanation on how the foundation - ostensibly a welfare foundation registered under the Registrar of Companies - came to own the land, said Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng. 

The properties are designated for various uses such as residential buildings, shop lots, offices, and mixed development.

“Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan is a welfare arm. It has no business to develop any land.

“So, the natural answer to all these land transactions is that the government transferred the land into the foundation’s name for the foundation to flip - meaning to resell - to private developers or to have joint ventures,” he told reporters at his service centre in Kepong today.

Malaysiakini has contacted former federal territories minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor for comment and is awaiting a response.

Tengku Adnan was the minister since 2013 until the recent general election in May. He was also a member of the foundation’s board of directors since June 28, 2013, and is still listed as a director in the Companies Commission’s records.

The Companies Commission’s records are up to Feb 9, 2018, which is before the election.

List includes 12 properties

According to Lim, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had provided him with a list of 12 properties owned by Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan, following his queries. A former DBKL officer listed another seven properties but without providing details, he said.

The total area for the 12 properties adds up to 122,199.948 square metres or 30.2 acres. They were registered under Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan on dates ranging from Aug 1, 2009, to June 13, 2018.

Nine out of 12 were registered while Tengku Adnan was the federal territories minister.

This includes a plot in Bukit Kiara, which Lim said is the subject of dispute between Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) residents and developer Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd.

Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan was granted a 99-year lease on the land until Aug 10, 2113, while Memang Perkasa had entered a caveat on the land. It was registered under the foundation’s name on Nov 29, 2017.

TTDI residents are trying to stop development of the Taman Rimba Kiara and preserve it as a forest park, while DBKL had earmarked it for mixed development.

As for the other land transfers that Lim alleges to have information on, one took place in 2009 when Zulhasnan Rafique was in office, one when Raja Nong Chik was in office, and one when the current Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad is in office.

Lim said this presented a clear conflict of interest since Tengku Adnan had been Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan chairperson and the minister in charge of DBKL, at the same time.

He said he will write a letter to Khalid requesting he freeze all transactions on the 19 properties, and said he will also ask the government to enter a caveat on the properties.

In addition, he said he would lodge a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate whether there was any abuse of power in the land transactions.

Asked about the land registered during Pakatan Harapan rule, he said land transactions typically take some time to finalise.

Hence, the transaction was likely to have been approved under Tengku Adnan’s watch although it was only registered under Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan on June 13, 2018.

For the record, Yayasan Wilayah Persekutan’s latest company profile provided by the Companies Commission states that as of the end 2016, the foundation had RM23.6 million in non-current assets and RM294 million in current assets.

At the same time, the foundation had RM209 million in current liabilities, no non-current liabilities, and RM37. 3 million in funds and reserves. -Mkini