This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 5, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has initiated a proceeding on Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL) land deals, according to its chairman Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee.

“The proceeding on the DBKL land sale started today (Thursday),” said Kiandee.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had probed the sale of 64 land parcels by DBKL previously, 48 of which were cleared by the commission as at July 18 last year.

The PAC is also looking at the deal surrounding the Automated Enforcement System (AES) on road offences, said Kiandee, adding that the committee had previously initiated a proceeding into Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

“Now, there are new issues. We have called in [related individuals] for Khazanah, AES. So, now we are going to call in DBKL [on its] land deals,” Kiandee added.

On Khazanah, Kiandee said the PAC was “satisfied that there is no further enquiry needed” after the previous proceeding.

“A report will be submitted to Parliament,” said Kiandee. He did not elaborate on the reason for the initial proceeding against Khazanah.

On the AES, it has been widely reported that the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) acquired it for RM555 million in 2014, a price tag deemed by some as overpriced.

LTAT said the previous Barisan Nasional government had agreed to take over the system from the armed forces fund at its full investment cost plus 12% annual return for the two-and-a-half-year period that it owned the concessionaire. The new government is reportedly still negotiating the final sum.

“There will be a briefing by [former auditor-general] Tan Sri Ambrin Buang on the AES. It will be up to the PAC to decide whether to initiate an investigation,” said Kiandee.

Separately, Kiandee said the PAC’s probe into the missing RM19.4 billion Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds is nearing completion.

“Next Monday we will have the final proceeding on the GST refund. The [National Audit Department] will provide a summary on its latest findings on the quantum of the refund [in question],” said Kiandee.

The case of the missing GST refunds was discovered after the change of government in May last year.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng claimed that about RM18 billion or 93% of the RM19.4 billion input tax credit under the GST system since 2015 had gone missing.

Former MoF secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, however, insisted that the money was not missing and that it could be found in the federal government’s Consolidated Fund.

Customs director-general T Subromaniam, who stepped down last month, maintained that his department never received the full amount it requested for refunds.