CLAIMS by Najib Razak that Malaysia would get trillions from China in the form of investments and trade, in exchange for an oil and gas pipeline project in Sabah are untrue.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has revealed that contrary to what the ex-prime minister claimed, these so-called benefits were never stated in Cabinet documents that okayed the project.

The RM9.4 billion pipeline had skirted government regulations but Najib on June 5 defended the project, saying that China had committed to importing goods worth US$2 trillion over the next five years from Malaysia.

Najib also said China would invest up to US$150 billion in Malaysia and offer 10,000 places for training and studies in various institutes in China.”

Lim said Treasury officials and the Chief Secretary to the government have combed through Cabinet papers and other government documents in search of these pledges.

“All officials asked have stated that these claims by Dato’ Seri Najib are untrue,” Lim said in a statement.

“There was no mention of the various ‘commitments’ made by China as claimed by Najib in any of the Cabinet papers presented in 2016 and 2017, which approved the SSER projects.

“Unless of course that there are certain hidden Cabinet papers or ‘red’ Cabinet minutes that no one has access to except the former prime minister himself.”

Instead, the Najib administration had paid 88% of the project’s value or RM8.3 billion to the companies responsible despite the fact that only an average of 13% of the work has been completed.

The project consists of two pipelines the Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP) and Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP).

MPP spans 600km connecting Malacca and Port Dickson to Jitra, Kedah costing RM5.35 billion. While TSGP is a 662km gas pipeline from Kimanis Gas Terminal to Sandakan and Tawau in Sabah, costing RM4.06 billion.

As of late March, only 14.5% of the MPP and 11.4% of the TSGP had been completed, Lim said. 

“Furthermore, the above completion rates have yet to be verified or audited.”

The two projects were given out by a ministry subsidiary called Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER). According to past reports, the firm is linked to SRC International, which has been embroiled in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

SSER has awarded the project to China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB). The signing of the memorandum of understanding was witnessed by China’s Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on May 14.

The payments had been hidden in one of the contentious red files that were off-limits to senior officers of the ministry, Lim said.

He revealed that SSER had also failed to secure any rights from Petronas as required to lay down pipes and the necessary land in Sabah for the TSGP.

“Despite such shocking revelations, Najib still claims that all the necessary processes, procedures and laws had been complied with in relation to the signing of these two pipeline projects,” Lim said.

Lim said SSER is being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, which has raided its offices.

MoF has also taken control of SSER’s offices and all its employees have been told to go on garden leave. 

SSER President, Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin, has been removed as company director.

An executive committee led by an accounting firm has been set up to operate the company and investigate its transactions. – June 11, 2018