PETALING JAYA: Ahmad Faizal Azumu tonight denied several claims by Najib Razak on the sale of a Perak-owned palm oil plantation which the former prime minister had said contributed to his recent ouster as menteri besar.
Najib had alleged that the sale of PT Pinang Witmas Sejati in Palembang, Indonesia, to a Singapore company for one-third of its value was one of the reasons Faizal lost a confidence motion at the state assembly last Friday.
He claimed that the sale was the result of a direct negotiation.
Najib had also repeated the late Slim assemblyman Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib’s assertion that the plantation was valued at RM1.03 billion.
Khusairi also said Perak reaped RM40 million in profit from it every year before the change of government following the 14th general election (GE14).
Faizal, however, dismissed these allegations, saying the Perak Agricultural Development Corporation (PPPNP) had invited 11 local and foreign companies to submit bids.
The bidding process ran from May 15 to Sept 30, 2019.
He also said that an independent valuer had said the land was valued at RM525 million in 2020. In 2018, the same valuer had valued the plantation at RM500 million.
Faizal went on to point out that based on data provided by PPPNP, the plantation had contributed dividends between RM5.5 million and RM32 million in the last decade, the highest being over RM32 million in 2011.
On claims it was sold to a Singapore company, Faizal said PPPNP had signed an agreement with Taiko Plantation Pte Ltd (Taiko), in April 2020.
Taiko, he said, was an investment holding company of KLK Berhad, a Perak-based company.
As for claims that Khusairi’s appeal not to sell the plantation because oil palm prices were low going unheeded, Faizal said: “The proposal to sell PT Pinang Witmas Sejati was made in 2014 and it was brought to the state government for approval,” he said in a Facebook post.
Faizal added that among the reasons it was sold included the high cost of replantation and the uncertainty of Indonesian laws and policies.
Last week Faizal lost the confidence of the state assembly after 48 members voted against a motion of confidence in him. He has since resigned as menteri besar.