WE refer to the recent expose on Mara’s acquisition of 746 Swanston Street, as well as the articles written by The Malaysian Insight. We also refer to the question posed by MP Teresa Kok on October 20, 2015, in Parliament, and the answer by MP Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the minister in charge of Mara, which are reproduced below:

PERTANYAAN: JAWAB LISAN

DARIPADA: PUAN TERESA KOK SUH SIM (SEPUTEH) (DAP)

TARIKH: 20 OKT 2015, SELASA

SOALAN: 39

Minta MENTERI KEMAJUAN LUAR BANDAR DAN WILAYAH menyatakan jumlah yang dibayar oleh MARA Inc untuk membeli saham di Trushcross Land Holding Ltd yang diperbadankan dalam BVI di Australia. Sila nyatakan peguam, akauntan dan penilai yang dilantik oleh pihak MARA dan MARA Inc di Australia dan Malaysia untuk mengendalikan pembelian syarikat Trushcross Land Holding.

JAWAPAN:

Tuan Yang Di-Pertua, Untuk makluman YB, Thrushcross Land Holding Limited (“Trushcross”) adalah sebuah syarikat British Virgin Islands (BVI) yang diperbadankan pada April 2010. MARA Incorporated Sdn Bhd (MARA Inc) telah membayar sebanyak A$64.4 juta untuk membeli keseluruhan saham milik Trushcross pada tahun 2012. Pembelian saham ini dibuat bagi mendapatkan pemilikan ke atas Dudley International House dan 746, Swanston Street. MARA Inc telah melantik panel peguam Tetuan Abdul Malik & Lawrence Tan serta firma perakaunan Deloitte Touche Financial Advisory Services Pte Ltd dalam membantu proses dokumentasi dan perakaunan. Manakala, Raine & Horne International Zaki & Partners Sdn Bhd sebagai syarikat penilai bagi pemilikan ini.

Pemilikan hartanah di atas dilaksanakan dengan mematuhi peraturan perolehan kerajaan yang berkuatkuasa yang mana kelulusan diperolehi di peringkat Ahli Lembaga Pengarah Syarikat, Panel Pelaburan MARA, Majlis MARA, Kementerian Kemajuan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah (KKLW), serta kelulusan Kementerian Kewangan (MOF).

The facts are now in the public domain as they were published in Malaysiakini, as well as The Malaysian Insight, yesterday in two articles, namely:

• Board wouldn’t have okayed shell company buy, says Mara Inc chairman

• Mara bought shell company for RM138 million, says report

We now know the following:

• Mara Inc paid A$41.8 million for the shares in Thrushcross via a Sale and Purchase Agreement dated August 28, 2012 (difference of A$22.6 million, in contrast to MP Ismail Sabri’s reply in October 2015).

• At the time the agreement was signed, Thrushcross was not the legal owner of 746 Swanston Street.

• Mara Inc became the legal owner of Thrushcross on December 16, 2012.

• The property was only transferred to Thrushcross legally on January 16, 2013.

• The transfer documents for the property were signed on December 19, 2012, between HRSV (owner of 746 Swanston and Thrushcross).

• Property was purchased by Trushcross for A$23.5 Million (difference of A$18.8 Million from what Mara had paid for the shell company).

• In short, Mara Inc paid A$41.8 Million for a US$2 company purported to have a beneficial interest in 746 Swanston.

We have serious questions for Ismail Sabri and politicians who serve Malaysia:

Why did Ismail Sabri mislead Parliament on October 20, 2015, when he said Mara Inc paid A$64.4 million for shares in Thrushcross to be owners of Dudley and Swanston, when we now know that Mara Inc paid A$41.8 Million in 2012 for shares in Thrushcross when it had zero assets, let alone ownership of the properties?

What happened to the difference of tens of millions of dollars that should have been used to fulfil Mara’s objective of uplifting the Malay community?

* Praveen Nagappan is a member of Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia in Australia.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.