A FORMER minister from the previous Barisan Nasional administration said he was uneasy upon hearing that the Asian Heritage Museum (AHM) had not paid rent since the iconic Carcosa Seri Negara was tenanted to them.

Former Natural Resources and Environment minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said he tendered his resignation as AHM’s honorary advisor when he learned of the matter six months after AHM moved into Carcosa Seri Negara.

Wan Junaidi was instrumental in helping AHM secure tenancy for the property.

“I immediately tendered my resignation as the honorary advisor of AHM, as I felt uneasy about the whole thing, ’’ Wan Junaidi told The Star.

“I was approached by AHM a few years ago because they wanted a location to open a museum and promote artefacts.

“They pitched the idea of a museum exhibiting Chinese artefacts secured from a shipwreck, with a value of RM500mil.

“I was naturally interested in that, although I had not seen the artefacts myself.

“I advised them to look at Melaka (as a location for the museum) but AHM was keen on Kuala Lumpur. At that time, I was the Home Affairs deputy minister and was not able to help, ” said Wan Junaidi.

“When I was appointed Natural Resources and Environment minister, the idea of Carcosa Seri Negara as a museum was mooted.

“So I thought why not give AHM a chance to carry out their plan.

“I knew the founder and he was a good man, so I told my KSU (secretary-general) to look into it and draw up an agreement, ” he added.

An agreement was drawn up requiring the company to pay a certain amount of deposit and monthly rent.

“I was confident in him and issued an offer letter which gave him access to the property, ” Wan Junaidi recounted.

He said six months later he came to know that AHM had not paid the required sum nor signed the agreement.

“Which means they do not have any standing (to be there).”

When asked why was AHM not asked to vacate the premises then, Wan Junaidi said AHM was running a Merdeka exhibition at that time so he decided to give the company another chance.

“I was also not happy when I found out AHM was renting out Carcosa Seri Negara to other companies and heard the place was not kept in good condition, ” he added.

Junaidi said he left it to the new government to handle the matter after the 2018 general election.