Tabung Haji may sell 1MDB land through open tender, chairman says

(Malay Mail Online) – Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) may sell the land it purchased from debt-laden 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) a month ago through open tender, its chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim has said.

Azeez reportedly said this was due to the keen interest shown on the land, which it had bought from 1MDB for RM188.5 million.

“We sell within this week. Up till now, there are already many offers and various parties are interested to buy,” he was quoted as saying yesterday by local daily Utusan Malaysia.

In a similar report by Sin Chew Daily, Abdul Azeez said that LTH does not rule out using the open tender method to get the best price for the land.

Last Saturday, LTH said it would sell its Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) land plot by this week on the advice of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

LTH’s board of directors had initially unanimously agreed in a meeting on Friday night to hold on to the land deal, but a call by Najib on Saturday morning warning against “prolonged slander” had forced its hand.

Azeez had then said the pilgrims fund had received a total of three offers for the land plot so far, which he insisted will generate at least RM5 million in profit for LTH.

Amid controversy over the land deal, LTH explained that its purchase of the 1.56 acre land plot in TRX was for a luxury condominium development project, insisting that the price of RM2,774 per square foot was a good deal.

The TRX plot was previously expected to net LTH an annual return of 9 per cent and a total profit of RM177.5 million in three years, the fund said.

The purchase has since been criticised by many from both sides of the political divide as allegedly amounting to a bailout of 1MDB, with former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad even suggesting that the land deal be cancelled.

The Tun Razak Exchange, planned as a 70-acre financial centre within the capital, is one of two high-profile property projects in 1MDB’s portfolio.