Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Razali Ibrahim (left) together Felda Chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad (centre) and Felda director-general, Datuk Ab Ghani Mohd Ali (right) at the press conference on the dubious land ownership transfer, at Menara Felda, December 21, 2017. — Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — Felda is moving to recover a RM270 million plot on Jalan Semarak here that was allegedly transferred from its ownership without the agency’s knowledge, said Tan Sri Shahrir Samad.

The Felda chairman said it also lodged a police report on the matter after learning about it on December 12.

“Felda through its external auditors began an in-depth investigation as soon as it found out about the alleged transfer of its land on Jalan Semarak,” he was reported as saying.

The plot in question was allegedly transferred in 2014 to a company appointed to develop the land by Felda Investment Corp, a unit of the agency.

Shahrir stressed that Felda’s priority now was to regain ownership of the land, and that it was not interested in collecting any payments for the alleged transfer.

He alleged that the company in question, Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd, may have misused the power of attorney, which it was given when appointed to develop the land, to transfer the plot to itself.

Felda will exhaust all avenues to recover the land, he said.

“The Prime Minister’s Department will also hire an independent party to conduct an internal audit within Felda board members to find out how the ownership transfer had materialised in the first place,” he said, adding that this should begin in January.

Shahrir also confirmed that Felda received nothing from four purported transactions of RM54.5 million, RM96.6 million, RM12 million and RM106.4 million from related sales and purchase agreements for the land.

“It sounded like a multi-million ringgit deal, but Felda did not even get a single sen,” he said.

“Although the room for negotiation is still open, if ever they decided to pay up, I can say that we are not as interested in the money as we are in the lands,” he said.

He said the matter was first brought to his attention in January by Felda’s Land Division, adding that he was shocked at the discovery.

Shahrir also expressed puzzlement at how such an arrangement was able to be pulled off within a federal agency.

He added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been apprised, as well as officials from his office and that of the Attorney-General.

Felda board members also applied for and obtained caveats on the land to prevent further transfers, with Shahrir saying they are pursuing a Land Administrator’s caveat that carried more force.

When asked if Felda would resort to buying the plot back from the developer, Shahrir declined to comment and said police should be allowed to investigate the matter first.

The issue came to light today after Berita Harian reported an anonymous source as alleging that Felda was at risk of losing over RM200 million from the suspicious land deal.

This is the latest scandal involving the agency following the arrest and remand of former chairman Tan Sri Isa Samad by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in October.

Isa was investigated following a boardroom tussle with Felda Global Ventures Holding chief executive Datuk Zakaria Arshad, who was suspended but has since returned to the post.