This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 13, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has confirmed that it was former Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad (pic) who signed the power of attorney (PA) which allegedly gave master developer Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd (SPSB) the right to convert 16 land titles to its name.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Razali Ibrahim confirmed this in the Dewan Rakyat in reply to a question by Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman (PKR-Indera Mahkota).

“In the spirit of telling the truth, I will not hide the answer. The PA was signed on June 3, 2014 by the former Felda chairman at that time. But this is not an issue of who is right or wrong because the investigation is ongoing.

“There have been a lot of recommendations made by the external auditors. About 240 documents, including board meeting minutes, have been taken into consideration in the inquiry,” said Razali.

“We guarantee it won’t happen again by ensuring that the general orders for the civil service is adhered to.

“What happened in Felda is a lesson learnt. Thankfully, it did not involve a high cost, and we got the land back,” he added.

Mohd Isa, former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar, was Felda chairman between 2011 and January 2017.

Late last December, Mohd Isa was called to give his statement to the police regarding the land development. He was also previously arrested by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over an investigation involving London hotel purchases by Felda.

On June 2, 2014, Felda’s investment arm, Felda Investment Corp Sdn Bhd, signed a master developer agreement with SPSB to develop the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City (KLVC) project, featuring seven towers including Felda’s KLVC Tower 1A, on 24 pieces of land worth RM200 million on Jalan Semarak.

SPSB, as the project developer, is alleged to have transferred the land titles of 16 pieces measuring 16.06 acres (64.9ha) to itself and its own company, Synergy Promenade KLVC Sdn Bhd, through four agreements on Dec 2, 2015 and Nov 7, 2016.

On Jan 4, the Prime Minister’s Office appointed an external auditor to investigate the deal, Razali said, adding that a police probe is also ongoing.

He added that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Felda and SPSB on Jan 15 whereby SPSB voluntarily returned the land titles without cost and agreed to re-open discussions on the KLVC project.