MCA President Liow Tiong Lai should have the courage of his predecessor Chua Soi Lek to have an open public debate with me on two issues relating to the 1MDB scandal as well as the undersea tunnel and three main highways. I have indicated for more than a month that Liow Tiong Lai should debate with me even though he leads a political party with only 7 MPs as compared to me leading a party that had 38 MPs elected in the 2013 general elections.
When Chua Soi Lek challenged me to a debate in 2012, I had accepted even though Chua was not a Minister because I respected his position as MCA President. Likewise Liow should do the same by challenging me to a public debate. However as he dares not do so, I hereby challenge Liow to a debate on the two issues mentioned so that the public can decide who is telling the truth and which party, either BN or Pakatan, is mired in corruption scandal.
The Penang state government had nothing to hide because the tunnel and 3 highway projects was conducted by open tender unlike 1MDB. Both BN or MCA did not dare to name which Penang state government leader had accepted millions of ringgit of bribes relating to the tunnel and 3 main highway project. In contrast Pakatan has named Jho Low and Malaysian Official No. 1(MO1) as the beneficiaries of 1MDB as proven by the RM1 billion super-yacht ‘Equanimity’ seized in Bali and the RM 2.6 billion deposited in the personal bank account of MO1.
Finally many countries have taken action against those involved in 1MDB, apart from the RM1 billion super-yacht and RM2.6 billion cash deposited in the personal bank account of MO1. This includes Singapore cancelling a bank license and imprisoning a bank officer for 54 months and seizure of RM430 million of cash deposits in Swiss banks by the Swiss government as well as the United States attorney-general Jeff Sessions describing 1MDB as “kleptocracy at its worst”.
If Wee Ka Siong Can Sell Us TRX Land At RM64 Per Square Feet At A Price 42 Times Below The Market Value, Then We Can Donate Not Half, But All The Profits To A Charity That Will Benefit Education.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib today had denied investor confidence was affected due to the 1MDB affair, pointing to the rapid development of Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) project as proof. Talking about 1MDB and TRX, who can forget that the BN government had sold 70 acres of TRX land to 1MDB at a cheap price of only RM64 per square feet, when the market price was RM2,700 per square feet in 2010? This works out to a purchase price of only RM 194 million when the market value is more than RM8 billion, a benefit to 1MDB of 42 times(4,200%) over the market value.
How low this price of RM64 per square feet is can be seen by 1MDB selling only 1.56 acres of land to Lembaga Tabung Haji at a supposedly cheap price of RM2,773 per square feet for RM188.5 million. In other words 1MDB practically got back their entire investment of RM 194 million for buying 70 acres of TRX land by selling only 1.56 acres!
And yet we see MCA Deputy President Wee Ka Siong arrogantly challenging Deputy Chief Minister 2 Professor P. Ramasamy to sell him seaside land at Gurney Drive for RM475 per square feet, that was the market value in 2012-2013. Wee even said that if Ramasamy can help to facilitate MCA to buy seaside land on Gurney drive for RM475psf, MCA is willing to donate half of the profits to a charity that will benefit Malaysian education.
Wee must remember that the Penang state government did not sell the land at RM475 per square feet to Zenith Consortium that won the open tender of the under sea tunnel and 3 main highway project, but at a much higher price of RM1,300 per square feet.
The Penang state government sold our land at 3 times the market value unlike the BN Federal government that sold its land at 42 times below market value to 1MDB. If Wee can sell us TRX land at RM64 per square feet at a price 42 times below the market value, then we can donate not half, but all the profits to a charity that will benefit education.
LIM GUAN ENG