This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on May 15, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The defence ministry has lodged two reports yesterday with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on 16 land swap projects involving tracts owned by the ministry. The ministry hopes the MACC will undertake a comprehensive probe on the matter followed by further action.

In a statement, the ministry said the reports were lodged following the tabling in Dewan Negara last Thursday of a report by the Governance, Procurement and Finance Investigating Committee — which was led by former auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang — on the land swap projects.

At the time, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu (Mat Sabu) disclosed that 13 of the 16 land swap deals carried out during Barisan Nasional’s administration involved his “predecessor, as well as the previous prime minister”.

Among the “discrepancies” found, he reportedly said, were the sale of land at lower prices and land swap projects given to unqualified developers, and that political interests were placed above the government’s interests, which resulted in the ministry losing over RM500 million from several of the deals.

In response, former defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein challenged Mat Sabu and his deputy, Liew Chin Tong, to prove that he had benefitted from the land swap deals struck under his tenure.

“I challenge Mat Sabu and Chin Tong to prove that I have personally benefitted financially and politically. My advice to them both is that if they live in glasshouses, don’t throw stones,” he was quoted as saying in news reports.

In the statement yesterday, the ministry said the investigating committee’s report had a big impact on the ministry, “especially [to remind] all parties involved in managing the land swap projects to be careful and not get involved in power abuse and bribery to the extent of causing project failure and losses to the government”.

“The defence ministry takes the investigating committee’s findings, reprimand and recommendations seriously,” it said.

The ministry went on to say that it will be posting the full investigation reports on the 16 land swap projects, in stages, on its official portal.