This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 9, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The review of 97 Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) land deals is slated to recoup RM466 million to the coffers of the ministry of federal territories, said its Minister Khalid Abdul Samad.

Some of the gains, he said, would come from land previously sold below the market price at the time.

These lopsided deals were cancelled, and DBKL will earn more by selling them at the market price, Khalid told reporters at the Parliament building yesterday.

“From the original 97 deals reviewed, we allowed 48 to carry on. We brought back 14 properties, and [for] some we renegotiated.

“The total extra income that the ministry calculated in real terms in the review is about RM466 million, including the purchase back of some properties at [the selling price that was lower than the market price],” Khalid said.

On a related issue, Khalid said he had met with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the matter.

“It was a good experience. This will hopefully be a reminder to all ministries that our actions are monitored and scrutinised,” he said.

Last week, PAC chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said the committee had commenced an inquiry into DBKL’s land deals.

DBKL was subject to a probe by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission last year into its land sales conducted since 2013.