KUALA LUMPUR: The sale of the Malaysian consulate building in Kong Kong is being conducted via an international open tender process at a reserve price of RM1.6 billion to receive a bid that may be higher, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
“The people are surely awaiting an explanation from former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the decision by his administration to sell the land and building through direct negotiations and not an open tender,” he said in a statement here today.
He said Najib was still trying to pin the blame on the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government on the sale of the property, although it was his administration that made the decision to sell the asset through direct negotiations.
Lim explained that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s action would have resulted in a loss due to the direct negotiations with the price offered before May 9 being at RM1.1 billion, and when PH decided to have an open tender, the offer price received was as high as RM1.6 billion.
“Malaysians would have lost at least RM500 million between the direct negotiations and open tender, if the BN government had not been replaced by PH.
“Najib refused to answer my question in Parliament, but in turn demanded that I reply to unsubstantiated allegations related to previous issues,” said.
Lim also said the underwater tunnel project by the Penang state government was not a problem as it was done via an open tender exercise.
He highlighted that PAS information chief Nasaruddin Hassan Tantawi who raised similar questions about the tunnel, had already apologised and withdrawn his allegations in 2016. – Bernama
