Dear Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim,

On March 5, it was reported by an Internet newsportal (not Malaysiakini ) that you said the Selangor government has managed to collect RM50 million of the debts due to it from Talam Corporation, in the form of cash and assets.

This is good news for the people of Selangor - if indeed such an amount had been collected.

Since it is foolish to take any politician at face value, I am writing to ask some questions in order to determine whether the number you had given is true, fair and justified.

1.What is the breakdown between cash and assets that make up the figure of RM50 million?

2.What were the assets collected?

3. How were the assets’ value arrived at, that is, what was the method used in arriving at the valuations on these assets that, together with the cash, make up the amount of RM50 million?

4.Who were the parties that performed the valuations and are they sufficiently independent of both the state government and Talam Corporation?

I had previously sent these same questions to the newsportal in question as part of my comment to its report but for reasons best known to it, it did not publish my comment.

In all humility, I believe the questions are fair and reasonable. Since you had seen it fit to publicly state the amount purportedly collected, I hope that you, in the interest of accountability and transparency, will give further details to support your statement in the form of answers to the questions.

The credibility of your answers and your promptness in replying (by issuing a public statement) will determine whether or not I will vote for PKR and Pakatan Rakyat in the next general elections.