KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 24): The Selangor government decided to sell its stake in an independent power producer (IPP) after Pakatan Rakyat took over the administration.

Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said while the decision was made after PR won the state in 2008, it had waited for the right buyer to come along.

"In this case it was the 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB)," he told fz.com. "This doesn't go against our principles as we did not sell it to a private company, but back to the government."

1MDB is a strategic development company wholly owned by the federal government.

Khalid was responding to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin's statement on Tuesday that the PKR government was being hypocritical for highlighting the IPP and toll issues while at the same time holding stakes in companies involved in these activities.

Khairy said Worldwide Holdings Bhd - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS), the state's development arm - had a 25% stake in Genting Sanyen, an IPP.

He added the Selangor government also had a 20% stake in the Kesas toll highway, which was inconsistent with its plans to abolish tolls.

The Rembau MP went on to say that the PR government had four years to dispose of such equities, but had not done so.

Earlier Wednesday, Khalid told a press conference at the Parliament lobby that Worldwide had sold its stake in Genting Sanyen to 1MDB

Genting Sanyen is the power arm of conglomerate Genting Group and is one of the country's five IPPs.

This story first appeared in fz.com on Oct 24, 2012.