He said apart from the appointment of an Umno assemblyman as Faizal’s political secretary without consulting the party’s leadership, another reason Faizal was ousted was because of the state’s sale of PT Pinang Witmas Sejati in Palembang, Indonesia, to a Singapore company for one-third of its value.
Najib said the late Slim assemblyman Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib, who formerly chaired the state-backed company holding the majority of PT Pinang Witmas Sejati’s shares, warned against selling the firm just because oil palm prices were low – but it was a call that was unheeded.
“Last year, the late assemblyman said the plantation was valued at RM1.03 billion and the state reaped RM40 million in profit from it every year before the change of government during the 14th general election,” said Najib on Facebook today.
“After the 14th general election, the chairman’s post was changed to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Perak menteri besar.
“However, after the PH Perak government collapsed and the PH Perak menteri besar became the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Perak menteri besar, the sale continued under the PN state government even though the price of palm oil now reached RM3,400 a tonne compared with RM1,800 to RM2,000 last year.
“The sale price announced in April after the PN Perak government took over was RM342 million while the total value of the estate was RM1.03 billion according to the previous chairman, or only 35% of the original price,” claimed Najib.
In April, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) said it would buy a 60% stake in PT Pinang Witmas Sejati for RM341.55 million through its Singapore-based unit Taiko Plantations Pte Ltd.
The shares were previously held by Ladang Lekir Sdn Bhd (LLSB), a subsidiary of the Perak State Agricultural Development Corporation (SADC).
SADC last month denied there were elements of abuse of power or corruption in LLSB’s disposal of its 60% stake in PT Pinang Witmas Sejati and that this was what had contributed to its low sale price. It said such claims were unfounded and malicious.
On Oct 19, Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia’s (Putra) Perak chairman Hamidah Osman urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the issue of the sale, alleging that abuses of power and corruption lowered PT Pinang Witmas Sejati’s selling price.