PETALING JAYA: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has urged the finance ministry and the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) to promptly settle the leasehold status of the land on which The St Regis Langkawi hotel stands.
PAC chairman Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the unresolved leasehold status had stalled the completion of the lease agreement, as the original shareholders’ agreement required freehold land status.
“As a result of this unsigned agreement, Lada was unable to collect a tax value of RM660,000 per year for a period of four years and 10 months, with a total tax value of RM3.19 million,” she said in a statement.
Her statement follows PAC’s proceedings between Nov 30 and Dec 13 last year, which uncovered unresolved issues concerning the hotel’s lease involving Lada and its operator INR Sdn Bhd.
Mas Ermieyati also said PAC was surprised to find that Lada, Minister of Finance (Inc), and Indonesian company Rajawali Group jointly owned shares in INR.
“To the surprise of PAC, the shares of INR are owned by Lada (30%), MoF (30%) and Rajawali Group (40%), making MoF the major shareholder with a 60% stake,” she said. Lada is an agency under the finance ministry.
She also said the failure to finalise contractual agreements resulted in a non-performing loan (NPL) problem with Bank Pembangunan, as INR defaulted on 24 months’ worth of financing, totalling RM27 million as of June 30, 2021.
“MoF plans to start the process of selling The St Regis Langkawi hotel to settle the debt of INR. However, there are difficulties in finding potential buyers as the status of the land is still pending,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mas Ermieyati said Lada needed to enhance the level of project management competency to ensure timely completion, quality and returns as targeted.
“Lada should ensure that all future development and tourism promotion plans are well-administered to maintain Langkawi’s status as a world-class tourism destination” she said. - FMT
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