FORMER defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein has lodged a report over the ministry’s dubious land swap deals with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, deputy chief commissioner (operations) Azam Baki said.

The report was handed to the anti-graft agency by one of Hishammuddin’s aides.

“We received reports from the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) earlier and we are looking into the cases but we have also received a report from former defence minister Hishammuddin.

“We will look into all reports and we will call up anyone involved in the dubious land deals. No one will be spared” Azam told reporters at the closing of a training workshop for anti-graft officers in Kuala Lumpur today.

Azam was also asked if MACC would call up another former defence minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and he said it was possible.

“It is a possibility. We will look into the case and we will see who we will be calling in for questioning.”

MACC has yet to call up any witness over the matter since Mindef lodged 14 reports over the land-swap deals last week.

The 14 reports were lodged by Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu’s special officer, Mohd Nasaie Ismai. 

The deals date back to the 1990s and were approved under the previous Barisan Nasional regime.

The reports were lodged after Mindef released a special audit report into 16 land swaps, including building military bases in certain parliamentary constituencies to shore up votes for selected Umno politicians.

This was done prior to the 14th general election last year so that thousands of servicemen and their families could be relocated to the bases.

In response to the Mindef audit, Hishammuddin said he welcomed the investigation, adding that he would submit his own report to the MACC.

He highlighted the deal involving land in Plentong and Tebrau, Johor, over which the ministry previously sued a developer for RM1.48 billion.

He did not respond directly to the audit report’s findings that one of his own former aides allegedly used his influence to get an army camp built in Paloh, a state seat in the Sembrong federal constituency that Hishammuddin holds, to shore up votes for him in GE14.

The audit was conducted by former auditor-general Ambrin Buang, who was appointed by Pakatan Harapan to look into dubious deals approved by the previous administration, beginning with Mindef.

Under the land-swap system, Putrajaya privatises government land in exchange for the construction of government facilities.

The four camps were built to move military voters were in Bera, Segamat, Paloh and Hutan Melintang. – May 21, 2019.