Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today addressed the share sale agreement that purportedly showed an indirect reselling of the controversial Taman Manggis land, but demanded federal minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who disclosed the document, to provide full disclosure.
Lim was referring to the documents showing that Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre Sdn Bhd (KLIDC), which bought the Taman Manggis land from the Penang government for RM11.6 million in 2012, would be sold to an undisclosed buyer for RM18.6 million.
Responding to Malaysiakini ’s article on unanswered questions in the case, Lim acknowledged that the company profile he disclosed on Monday, which showed no change in the ownership of KLIDC, was dated before the alleged shares sale was set in motion.
However, Lim stressed that the agreement is only “on paper” and the most authoritative document to prove that the sale had taken place was still the company profile document from the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) and the land title.
“The agreement doesn't mean anything unless the share transfer is effected.
“It’s like signing an agreement to buy a car for RM30,000 but you don’t change the registration of the car, then you don’t own the car.
“The CCM document and the land title transfer would be the final definitive documents to prove the transfer,” he said.
However, if the transfer had indeed taken place, it will take a few months before the information is updated in the public domain.
As such, Lim said Abdul Rahman, who had refused to disclose the name of the buyer in the share sale agreements, should provide full disclosure now.
“We have answered in full but the person who seem to have something to hide is Abdul Rahman.
“Why is he so shy when he always shows himself to be a brave minister? He should reveal the names.
“He should reveal who is the buyer, whether the full payment had been made and when will the share transfer be effected,” he said.
‘Action if share transfer is true’
Lim said if there is proof that the share transfer had been effected behind the Penang government’s back, it will take action based on the recommendations of the state legal adviser.
He added that the state government must be informed of the transfer of ownership.
Apart from the KLIDC agreement, Abdul Rahman had also revealed another share sale agreement involving Victoria International Medical Centre Sdn Bhd (VMC), which signed a joint-venture agreement with KLIDC to develop the Taman Manggis land.
The share sale agreement showed that VMC would be acquired by the same buyer for another RM52 million.
Lim said this was the first time he heard about the agreements, describing them as “incredible” and expressing suspicion.
“Has the money been paid? At more than RM70 million, I am also interested to know who is the buyer.
“Don’t be so difficult in trying to give the full picture, Abdul Rahman should reveal the agreement in full and let the buyer explain if they have paid in full for the transfer,” he said.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini pointed out that the company profile of KLIDC at the CCM had yet to be updated and therefore cannot be used to rebut the share sale agreements dated Nov 11, 2015.
Malaysiakini also noted that buyer had until March 22 this year to make the full payments for the shares of the companies, which was just two weeks ago.
This meant that the share sale agreements, if executed, may still be ongoing and cannot be immediately proven or disproved by documents in the public domain.
