Ku Li prefers to hold Malaysia Building, but won't dispute disposal

Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah believes that it would be wise to hold on to the Malaysia Building in Hong Kong as it appreciated in value.

Razaleigh, who was finance minister when the Malaysian government acquired the building in the 1980, believed that the building was worth more than a billion ringgit.

"To me, it is wise for us to hold on to it because it would cost a lot (to buy another). Last time, we bought it at HK$200 million if I was not mistaken but now it's worth a billion.

"Can someone afford to buy it?" he said when met at the Parliament lobby today.

Malaysia Building first came under the spotlight on March 19 when former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak wrote on his social media pages that the federal government was trying to sell it.

Following this, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told Parliament on Tuesday that it was the Najib-administration that tried to sell it for RM1.1 billion through direct negotiations prior to the general elections last year.

Lim argued that Putrajaya, which has since canceled the deal, was not receiving offers for 50 percent more.

According to Razaleigh, the Malaysian government had acquired the building in the past because there was a need to put Malaysian government agencies under one roof.

Among others, he said the occupants of the building included agencies involved in trade, the rubber industry and tourism. The building also host a Malaysian consulate.

"The opinion of the foreign ministry at the time was our agencies were spread every where and it was appropriate to put them in one building," he said.

Asked if he believed that the federal government was "desperate" to sell the building, Razaleigh replied in the negative.

"The government has ways of generating funds and won't sell everything," he said.

Malaysiakini understands that Najib-administration had attempted to sell the 25-storey building on Gloucester Road, Wanchai to a Kota Kinabalu-based company.

Malaysiakini also understands that the federal government had wanted to dispose of the building due to increasing maintenance cost. - Mkini