Dahlan: Shafie's statement on Bandar M'sia is baseless
Published on: Friday, October 28, 2016
Kuala Lumpur: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan dismissed a statement by Semporna MP Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal that the government had sold 60 per cent of the equity in Bandar Malaysia to China. He said the government and the people of Malaysia actually owned 76 per cent of the total equity in the urban development project. The Finance Ministry held 40 per cent of the equity, he said.
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"Of the remaining 60 per cent, 36 per cent is owned by Iskandar Waterfront Holdings while 24 per cent was sold to China Railways. "So 40 per cent (held by Finance Ministry) added to the 36 per cent held by IWH means the actual total equity held by the government or people is 76 per cent," he told reporters at the lobby of Parliament. IWH is a public-private partnership company between the Johor government through Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor, which owns 40 per cent of the company, and Credence Resource Sdn Bhd which holds the remaining 60 per cent.
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Mohd Shafie, the former Rural and Regional Development Minister, alleged in the Dewan Rakyat that the government sold 60 per cent of Bandar Malaysia equity to investors from China, and sought clarification on the matter.Abdul Rahman said Mohd Shafie's statement was aimed at confusing the people.
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He also questioned Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah's statement that the arrears in payment on the sale of equity in Bandar Malaysia to a Chinese consortium would be received in 2020."I believe the negotiations were held by the Finance Ministry when he was still a minister. The agreement was reached in accordance with the situation then, and it does not mean that receiving payment in 2020 makes it a bad deal," he said. Meanwhile, said Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said the housing policy by the Selangor government alone, without subsidy, will not help in controlling the price of houses in the state.He said the housing policy implemented by the Selangor government was only on the requirement for developers to allocate 30 per cent of their projects for building of affordable homes.However, no subsidy is given to housing developers to reduce the cost of building the houses, he added.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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