THE decision to sell the Malaysia Building in Hong Kong was made by the Najib Razak’s administration, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng today. 

“The decision to sell the consulate building was made by Najib during the Barisan Nasional administration. The offer letter was issued by him. 

“The decision was done by him before May 9, 2018. But the decision made was for a direct negotiation at the price of RM1.1 billion,” Lim said during his winding-up speech on the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat today. 

He added that the former government wanted to sell because it was unable to foot the refurbishment bill of RM300 million. 

Lim said this in response to Najib’s concern over media reports that the government is trying to sell the 28-storey office tower it owns in Hong Kong.

The building on Gloucester Road houses several Malaysian government agencies, including the Consulate-General of Malaysia’s office.

Lim said that when Pakatan Harapan took over, it was decided that there would be an open tender for the sale so the government could make more money out of the sale.

“We felt the sale should not be a direct negotiation deal. We felt we would get a better offer through open tender. 

“We have received offers from various parties, offers up to RM1.6 billion, which is RM500 million more than the direct negotiation deal.”

Najib yesterday said under his administration, the government would have not sold off the asset in Hong Kong. – March 26, 2019