Annuar denies approving new KL Tower concessionaire

 

Former communications and multimedia minister Annuar Musa said he had no power to approve tenders.

PETALING JAYA: Former communications and multimedia minister Annuar Musa has denied that he was involved in the approval of a tender for the new concessionaire operating and managing the KL Tower.

The tower is owned by the government while its operations and maintenance had been granted to a wholly owned TM subsidiary, Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd (MKLSB), since 1996.

Annuar said the power to approve the tender was in the hands of the Public Private Partnership Unit (Ukas), which was under the purview of Mustapa Mohamed at the time.

“In the beginning, there was only one company. Then, I asked them to open the selection process to more. Two or three people came to me with their letters of proposal which I passed to the administration,” Annuar said.

“I told them to do the necessary assessment, proposal and not just talk about it.

“While I may have been a minister, I didn’t get involved in tenders.

“The ministry did the assessment and they kept me informed. But I had no power to approve them as it was under Ukas and Mustapa.”

Mustapa was then minister in the prime minister’s department.

Annuar was speaking at a forum organised by Malay daily Sinar Harian.

He also denied being close to the director of Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd, the company which eventually took over TM subsidiary MKLSB.

“I don’t know the director … I leave it to my lawyer to assess their statements, whether there is any slander.”

Yesterday, TM distanced itself from the controversy, stating that the selection process was “taken up by the government”.

The acquisition is currently being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and three witnesses have been called. Numerous documents from the relevant parties will be examined.

Several social media users had highlighted TM’s move to transfer full ownership of MKLSB to Hydroshoppe in October.

A Twitter user with the handle @FreeMsian, who described KL Tower as a “cash cow”, said the iconic structure that also serves as a tourist attraction, generated RM66 million in revenue in 2019 and recorded a net profit of RM25 million then.

Wondering why there was no public announcement about the deal, the Twitter user asked why TM had sold all its 10 million shares in MKLSB. - FMT