So, will Muhyiddin step out and be counted?

Read the FULL STORY HERE

Is he even contemplating it?

Remember, I bear no malicious intent when coming up with the heading for this posting; just asking the obvious question that RPK hasn't asked. Because if claims that the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin wasn't with his boss on the 1MDB issue were true, then here's a chance for him to put the issue to rest once and for all. Muhyiddin is a Malay gentleman and a Malay gentleman does not walk away from a challenge, or a duel. In Malay, it's described as pantang dicabar.  

What's Shafie waiting for?

Same thing with Shafie Afdal, the UMNO vice president and Rural and Regional Development Minister, who was said to have been showing waning support for Najib Razak lately. Sources attributed this to a rumoured meeting between some political brokers and Shafie not too long ago, where they discussed the possibility of the Sabahan being made DPM in the event that Najib Razak steps down and Muhyiddin steps up as the new PM.

And not forgetting KJ, who may have gone off tangent when commenting on the 1MDB issue on more than a few occassions although, I must add, the UMNO Youth chief and Federal Youth and Sports Minister has been smart about it.

KJ's balancing act a hard act to follow by other Cabinet ministers

Based on history, I don't think Muhyiddin's loyalty is in question at all. Back in 2008, when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's fall as PM had become imminent, Muhyiddin was offered - not once but twice - the seat of the UMNO presidency and (therefore) Malaysian premiership as the kingmakers weren't too happy with Najib's softly-softly approach with Pak Lah at the time. But Muhyiddin said NO to both offers to stab his tag team in the back. It's hard to imagine he'd change in such a short time.  Unless, of course, there's a gun trained on his head.  

1MDB: Turning the corner (with a little help from our Arab friends)

Husni The Hitman

The US$1 billion deal the 1MDB signed with the International Petroleum Investment Company and its subsidiary Aabar Investment caught everyone by surprise. A corporate player agrees with me this morning that 1MDB may have "turned the corner" with the deal. The diehard naysayers are not expected to agree with that at all. Even before the full details are out, the detractors say that 1. we are digging a bigger hole to fill up the existing one, and 2. It's beneath us to run to the Arabs for help. These are valid concerns, especially given our great disdain of our fellow Muslims (see Marina Mahathir's Arab colonisation of Malaysia). Perhaps they should have gone to Shylock, instead.

The fact remains though that by June 4, the deal with IPIC, which is the investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi which controls more than 90% of the UAE's oil reserves, will render the so-called scandal that was BSI Singapore a non-issue and the Deutsche Bank will get its money long before it's due. 

The deal will involve IPIC and Aabar gaining a number of assets ,INCLUDING the units that are held in the company's BSI Singapore account. "So who says assets from the PetroSaudi JV and murabaha has no value? By June 4, it would have fully redeemed the last US$939.9 million units towards full early settlement of the Deutsche Bank facility."

Questions will and must continue to be asked about this and that hole but with the interested parties, ie the lenders, the 1MDB and IPIC/Abaar, paid and contented, everybody else will have no choice but to move on ...

Deadline, Jan 2016. They will have to move on to the next punching bag, ie the rationalisation of the 1MDB, and the poor man who's just got the job as main spokesman for the rationalisation, Husni Hanadzlah (pic). 

What's this wretched rationalisation all about?

In a nutshell, the rationalisation program will break up the 1MDB into three separate entities:

1. Edra

2. TRX

3. Bandar Malaysia

Completion date: Early 2016

I don't have all the details but one CEO blogger wrote earlier this week that the 1MDB Real Estate Division would be announcing soon its next phase of strategic property game with Bandar Malaysia, a 486-acre development that is expected to realize RM145 billion in 15 years. All units in TRX are taken up as well - you can't buy even if you have the money. And abroad recently, the PM was approached by parties interested to take over not part but the whole of Bandar Malaysia, or so I was told. 

Read Putih Mata, Lagi (or Why Tabung Haji should keep its TRX parcel and be damned) by Zakhir Mohamad, 27/5/2015.

Please also read JMD's 1MDB is confirmed to be in bad shape; will be dismantled by MoF

The press statement on the IPIC deal

MEDIA RELEASE-1MDB

MINISTRY OF FINANCE MALAYSIA

PRESS STATEMENT

YB MINISTER OF FINANCE II

DATO’ SERI AHMAD HUSNI HANADZLAH 

Earlier this morning, I presented a plan for the rationalisation of 1MDB to the Cabinet. This followed an announcement by 1MDB, in February 2015, of the conclusion of a strategic review. 

As has already been achieved with Edra Energy, this will see TRX and Bandar Malaysia established as standalone companies, with full autonomy and accountability for their operational and financial performance. 

Whilst options are being pursued with respect to the monetisation of Edra Energy, the Ministry of Finance will remain a key shareholder in TRX and Bandar Malaysia, which will raise equity via third party investors. Proceeds raised will be used for capital expenditure and to reduce 1MDB’s debt. 

Given the above, I am pleased to announce that 1MDB has entered into a binding agreement with the International Petroleum Investment Company (“IPIC”) and its subsidiary Aabar Investments (“Aabar”). As part of this agreement, IPIC will make a payment of USD 1 billion, on or before 4 June 2015. This USD 1 billion payment will be used to repay a USD 975 million (RM3.5 billion) loan, in advance of its due date, to a syndicate of international bank lenders. The agreement will also include further measures to comprehensively address the various financial asset and liability transactions between the parties, further details of which will be announced in due course. 

This agreement marks a significant step towards reducing 1MDB’s overall debt levels, and is a crucial part of the rationalization plan I presented to Cabinet earlier, which we expect to be implemented in full by early next year. 

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

29 MAY 2015

Dr M vs Najib: Just another notch lower

Factsheet

Factshit

... and we slide down deeper into the gutter by the day. 

You may see these efforts to counter the allegations as a dirty campaign against the Old Man, but those behind these posters think it is only fair to defend PM Najib Razak against the conspiracy to take him down. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's people are not going to stop demonising Najib. Why, some of them have been preparing for this war for years. The PM's defenders aren't going to stop, either. Only Tun M and Najib can stop this from getting worse But what are the chances of that happening now? 

The most Eff-ed FAQ ever

Updated: Has The Spat finally divided the so-called pro-Establishment bloggers? The Mole places the unpredictable Bujai and Najib loyalist Dr MiM against the prolific Jebat Must Die and Mahathir loyalist Syed Akbar Ali in Najib's FAQs win over many bloggers but a few still doubt, The Mole 28/5/15

Some Malaysians still think this is possible 

Original posting

Thurs, 28/5: Of course the growing army of detractors aren't happy with Najib Razak's response to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's latest tirade [Najib dan Pembohongan, 24/5/15]. They will be happy only when the Prime Minister caves in and steps down. But to most Malaysians who don't want this spat to turn into an all-out, free-for-all war, Najib's FAQ, the closest to a rejoinder one can ever hope form this man, is welcomed. You don't expect anyone - most of all your enemy - to take kindly to being called a liar unless he's not a man (or woman).

They will continue to attack Najib's every FAQ but that shouldn't stop him from responding to Tun each time the latter lets loose a fresh round. By responding directly to his ex-boss each time, Najib will confine the spat to an exchange between them. Otherwise, it is the cheerleaders, people on the ringside, the cybertroopers, and the misguided, super gung-ho machais who get to make the most noise.

Read Najib's 15. Tun Mahathir's Allegations

[Najib: Mahathir's criticism without basis and unfair , The Mole]

p.s It would be nice if Najib's website admin can 1. tweak najibrazak.com to function like most blogs, the latest positng is automatically placed at the very top so that people like me and those angry detractors will be notified immediately/automatically whenever Najib has a new posting; 2. keep response time by Najib to every posting by the Tun to less than 24 hours, not in two or three days; and 3. as we journos say, KISS! 

1MDB: Bullshit indicator needed!

Kuala Lumpur, 27/5/2015: 

The above screenshot was trying hard yesterday to pass off as the real thing (see below). The aim of this screenshot, I guess, was to inflict the "Oh dear" effect on people, especially those who don't believe that things are as bad as some have painted about 1MDB. It's effective but ONLY if you are hopelessly gullible or/and because you wish those things about 1MDB to be real bad so you can bring down Najib Razak. 

This is the real thing (you're welcomed, TMI):

The original report in TMI

Some people and I checked first and we can tell you without malice that the Bank Negara governor DID NOT SAY what the first screenshot claimed she'd said. Not that, to me, is malicious. Enemies of the 1MDB can crap on 1MDB but to try and implicate the BNM governor is unacceptable.

This is the Bernama report via Malaysian Digest:

1MDB: Bank Negara Confirms Receiving Singapore Counterparts Report

•  
• 

Details

 

Published on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 14:56

0 Comments

Pic:BernamaKUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today confirmed receiving a report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

"They have announced sending the report to us. Yes, we did receive it," BNM Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, said here today.

She was responding to a question on whether BNM had received the MAS report on 1MDB, particularly in relation to BSI Singapore.

Zeti said this at a press conference on the release of the Labuan Financial Services Authority (FSA) Annual Report 2014 here today.

It was earlier reported that MAS was in touch with Malaysia's regulators over investigations into 1MDB.

According to the report, MAS has also said that it was fully committed to assisting within the full ambit of its laws.

"The information will be extended to other agencies under Malaysia's jurisdiction," Zeti said, adding, the findings were highly confidential.

Asked if MAS had notified BNM that there was no cash being held by 1MDB in BSI Bank Singapore as alleged, she said: "We can’t comment on an individual entity.

"I have already stated that the international community will not cooperate with us if we release the information extended. Therefore, it will stop all investigations if we talk about it."

She said the arrangement is to maintain confidentiality.

To another query on whether 1MDB's loan default could possibly threaten Malaysia's banking system, Zeti said in general, when any entity took a loan from banks here exceeding RM2 billion, they would be on the watch list of the central bank to assess any systemic risk to the banking system.

Stress tests are regularly conducted and so far, banks in Malaysia have proven to be well-capitalised and financially sound, she reiterated.

- Bernama

So, Dear Readers, while there are a lot of crap going on in our corpoate world, perhaps more so than before, although there were lots before, I suggest we put on out bullshit indicator to detect a whole lotta crap that's being dished out on the Internet.

Another recent example is the write-up alleging the 1MDB top execs of snubbing the PAC. Turned out that 1MDB got the "invite" just a few days ago, NOT weeks earlier. You and I know the intention. Good thing Mr Arul Kanda didn' t take weeks to respond to the latest crap:

Media statement by Arul Kanda, 1MDBPresident and Group Executive Director

Issued on 26 May 2015

For immediate publication 

Invitation for appearance before PAC

“Contrary to recent press reports and statements by certain individuals, we wish to clarify that it was only on 21 May 2015 that 1MDB received a letter from the Ministry of Finance, appending an invitation sent by the PAC.

This invitation, which was addressed to the Ministry of Finance, requested an appearance by the company before the committee on 26 May 2015.

Upon receiving this letter, 1MDB responded to the Ministry of Finance on21 May 2015, the same day the company received the invitation.

As confirmed by YB Nur Jazlan, Chairman of the PAC, the date for this appearance is currently being finalised, due to the date proposed earlier being in conflict with previously scheduled overseas commitments.

We once again reiterate our intention to extend our full cooperation to the PAC and both Arul Kanda and Datuk Shahrol Halmi look forward to appearing before the committee and having the opportunity to clarify 1MDB's position.”

PM, Dr M in Tokyo

Puchong, 26/5: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is in Japan for a follow-up on an eye surgery he had recently. Najib Razak is also in Japan on a three-day official visit. One advisor to the Prime Minister, when asked, said he did not know if the two would meet in the Land of the Rising Sun. Why did I ask? I was yesterday reminded that this very month in 2006, both the Tun and Abdullah Badawi, the PM then, were also in Tokyo. They were not having the best of relationships, too, and they had met briefly. The meeting went well but not the events that followed.

"I did not ask him to come and see me. I went to meet him. As a gesture of friendship, just to exchange greetings." - Dr M in 2006, on his meeting with the PM in Tokyo

The Pak Lah-Mahathir meeting led to a sharp decline in ties between the two men (and lawsuits involving their men). There would be all-out war afterwards that resulted, in 2008, the worst ever GE-on-GE results for the ruling BN coalition.

I doubt that Dr M and Najib would be meeting in Tokyo:, the Tun is in pain and the PM would be too busy with Shinkansen and the second phase of the Look East Policy.

But here's to wishful thinking ...

Has Lim Kok Wing lost his guli-guli?

A page from 30 years ago: Lim Kok Wing's Guli-Guli

Monday, 25/5/15: In the 80s, Guli-Guli, the pro-harmony comic strip published in the New Sunday Times, defined the younger Lim Kok Wing, just as Kampung Boy had defined Lat. Lim Kok Wing was a politically-correct advertising name known also for spending a lot of time and money on welfare work. The man went on to do bigger things during the 90s and worked closely with several of the country's Administrations, not just in image sprucing exercises but actual political firefighting. A dozen years after Dr M stepped down as Prime Minister, Lim Kok Wing is a towering Malaysian still regarded as a "Mahathir man". His appointment as Najib Razak's advisor, at a time when the Tun is intensifying his scathing attacks on the PM, therefore, got a lot of people's attention.

I'm not sure what Lim Kok Wing is supposed to advise Najib on. I can only hope, for Najib's sake, that his job scope includes managing how the mainstream media (including the NST group that he used to send his drawings to) respond to those attacks by Dr M. Because in my opinion they have not done the PM any favour in this department. What I got from several editors at Utusan Malaysia, NST/Berita Harian and TV3 is that their chief editors have been taking orders from an advisor close to Najib. The same name - Habibur Rahman - kept cropping up in my conversation with them, though none could claim to have met this chap. 

What Najib needs to do is defend and explain his policies, not attack his ex boss. I am quite certain Lim Kok Wing would agree with me, that the PM's existing strategy, which is to attack Mahathir to defend Najib, via the newspapers and prime news, is backfiring. 

But I also doubt that this Habibur Rahman or the other advisers of Najib would take kindly to LKW or anyone else barging into their territories.

The ideal situation is for my friends the Chief Editors at NST, TV3 and Utusan to have the balls (read Life of Annie's Journalists need balls) and stand up against all and any bad advice coming from people claiming to have Najib Razak's interest at heart. Such advisers were the start of the downfall of Pak Lah not too long ago, these editors would still remember.

Malaysia and Rohingyas: Using our vast experience to help the refugees

Read also: Shocking discovery by Bujai, 24/5
Mass graves in Perlis found of the Rohingyas by Helen Ang, 24/5

The OZ way

Updated Fri 22/5: Damned if you do, damned if you don't: The Malaysia Dilemma by Anak Si Hamid


Original Posting

Wed, 20/5/15: I read Helen Ang's Najib gomen caves in to pressure, about PM Najib Razak's "lack of gumption" to stand by his own Administratiion's decision not to allow the Rohingya Muslims to land on our shores. But if this is a "weakness" on the part of the Prime Minister, it is one that we should welcome with open arms. 

Please let the Rohingyas in. Lead this regional effort to save these Boat People.

Bernama's full story H E R E

Msia, Indonesia couldn't wait any loner, says Anifah 

I never had doubts whatsoever that Anifah Aman, our Foreign Minister, would do the right thing, ie find a temporary solution quickly to resolve the life-and-death crisis facing the 7,000 Rohingya refugees out there in the sea. I am very proud of him. 

As veteran journalist Nuraina Samad wrote on her Facebook yesterday, there is no country more experienced than Malaysia in this region when it comes to helping refugees like the Rohingyas are concerned. For decades we were giving the Vietnamese Buddhists and Christians refuge in Pulau Bidong and in Sabah/Sarawak while the international community decided who they wanted to take in. Today, most of these "Boat People" are doing very, very well in the US, Australia, Europe and else where, thanks to us. [Read Nuraina's entry H E R E.] 

Myanmar is a disgrace. Anyone disagrees?

As the Chair of Asean, Najib must send the message to Myanmar to be civilised, get Thailand and the other member countries to help Malaysia and Indonesia in dealing with the issue, and start making those calls to world leaders. 

The international community will take its time to deal with this matter. Why? It concerns not just Muslims but poor Muslims and there is no oil at stake so this will be very low in terms of priority for most of them. Our esteemed critics should be gunning their razor sharp words at the internaitonal community and their hipocrisy instead of attacking our own ...

p.s. I sure hope the Lim Guan Eng is still with the Federal Government on this.

Najib Razak tells foes ("them who might have hidden agendas") to not undermine AG and PAC

Updated: Dr M unmoved by Najib's FAQs, says they do little to erase his doubts about the PM's leadership. "I was the first Umno president to be elected under a new party Constituion in an open and democratic manner".
The NST has the story h e r e

Original posting
Monday, 18/5: The thing is, his detractors are well aware of the fact that the AG has been investigating the 1MDB and that the NurJazlan-led PAC, which includes YB Tony Pua as a member, is starting its own probe soon. It's as if they don't want the Accountant General's office or the PAC to find out the truth. It's as if they want to stick to the perception ...

Expect the PM to use his blog more to speak out against those he said "might have hidden agendas".

Allegations against 1MDB

It is unfair for certain politicians to convict the government in the court of public opinion way before the actual facts are laid down by lawful authorities, namely the Auditor-General and the bi-partisan Public Accounts Committee (PAC). 

When concerns began to be raised, I wanted a detailed explanation, so I ordered the Auditor General and PAC to investigate 1MDB’s books. Anyone found guilty of embezzlement or misappropriation will be brought to justice. 

We are expecting the release of the preliminary report by Auditor General very soon. In the mean time, please do not speculate and form conclusions without the information that will be laid out by the Auditor General, who will provide a detailed report into 1MDB’s finances. 

We all want detailed answers but it is only proper to let the auditors do their job and tell us clearly what the situation really is. If we pre-empt it, we would be undermining them, as many others have done. This is not the proper procedure. If we are sincere in finding out the truth behind those allegations, we need to get the information from legitimate sources (like the Auditor General) and not third-party news portals or online blogs that might have hidden agendas.

Check out Najib's defence against 13 issues that have been raised in recent days H E R E 

The first thing 1MDB's board and management got to do (after ignoring Nazir Razak's call)

Updated, Saturday, with apologies to YB Tony Pua for overlooking the fact that the 1MDB's "threat" to take legal action was also about him and NOT just about Nazir Razak. Read TMI's Sila heret saya dan Nazir Razak ke makhamah, Pua beritahu 1MDB. DAP's Pua must be credited as one of the earliest to have laid the foundations for others, including Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to launch their attacks on 1MDB and use the Fund to initiate the current campaign to force Najib Razak to step down as Prime Minister. Ironically, Pua also sits on the Public Accounts Committee, which will start investigation proceedings on 1MDB this week (19/5). The PAC is chaired by Umno's YB Nurjazlan Rahmat, who is often seen as "more Opposition than Opposition". 

Updated:1MDB responds to Nazir Razak, "reserves the right to take legal action"

Nazir: Loden, Arul and Co should quit

Original posting

Friday: I hope the Prime Minister's younger brother will not say later that the Press had taken him out of context in Nazir Razak skewers "irresponsible" 1MDB board, says directors should quit. [Malay Mail Online, 14/5]. Like he did 5 years ago after they had quoted him on the bastardisation* of the New Economic Policy that favoured Bumiputeras just like him. Why do I hope he'd stick to his guns this time? Because I happen to agree with him. No, not about the bastardization of the NEP but about the people running 1MDB: they should answer allegations against the Fund, or quit!

“It is your basic responsibility. There’s a complete mistrust in your financial situation. You have to responsibly deal with that. But instead you sit there and wait for AG ... To me that’s irresponsible. If you do that then it’s better for you to step down and let someone else come in and take over.”

I have made my views known before when Hazem Rahman was the elegantly silent CEO of 1MDB: if he couldn't speak up to defend his own organisation, he should pack up and go. [Malaysian corporate scenen in early 2015: Staying, moving up, moving out].  

But to be fair - and Nazir should have pointed this out - new CEO Arul Kanda has not been sitting on his ass doing nothing. He's issued quite a few statements to defend 1MDB, raised the money to  avoid default with Maybank, and is now busily calming down some panicky lenders in Singapore, or so say some newspaper reports friendly tot the Sarawak Report. Nazir could have pointed out also that Chairman of the Board Loden Wok Kamaruddin had even gone to see former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad months ago to brief the Old Man on the 1MDB's operations (this was before Dr M started calling for Nazir's brother to step down or be removed as PM). And not forgetting that big bro Najib has also not  been keeping quiet.

The thing is: there are just too many of them attack dogs.

And Arul and Loden's problem is that the calls (whether to respond to a certain allegation or not) are right now being made by "one or two experts" in Putrajaya. I was told the names of these people and I'm sorry to say these people are hardly experts.

In order to effectively defend itself against those attacks, 1MDB needs to have full, 24/7 control of its communications and media strategies at its immediate disposal. Right now, its media strategies are being planned and carried out from the Prime Minister's Office perhaps by virtue that the PM is Chairman of the Advisory Board. I don't see how this has benefitted anyone other than those who are opposed to 1MDB.

So if you ask me the first thing the Board and the Management of the 1MDB got to do, assuming that they will ignore Nazir's call for them to quit, is to reclaim that ability to defend themselves from the so-called experts in Putrajaya.

Basic, right? 

* Strangely, Malays have become very successful bankers

Tabung Haji and 1MDB: Two players on the same side

Keeping TRX land.  I have quoted the guys at The Benchmark before, so I have to say that those guys, though anonymous, can be credible sometimes. Which is uncommon as far as anonymous bloggers are these days. In the case of their latest scoop re the purchase of TRX land by Tabung Haji, however, I think a better analysis would have helped give the right perspective to the whole issue.  

I would suggest my Dear Readers check out news portal The Malaysian Digest for this: Tanah 1MDB dibeli Tabung Haji lebih murah dari MRCB. [see below; wonder if there's an English translation]. 

I haven't had the chance to look at the details of the transaction or speak to the management of Tabung Haji, but I'd imagine the deal between the two corporate players would be a win-win one. 1MDB could have sold to Ananda Krishnan or Francis Yeoh, or the (mainland) Chinese, for twice or three times the value, easily. But that means losing yet another Bumiputera-held prime land in KL. And with such prime property, you cant go wrong even in the worst of economic times. 

KUALA LUMPUR: Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) memaklumkan telah membeli sebidang tanah di pusat kewangan Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) milik syarikat pelaburan 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) berjumlah RM188.5 juta iaitu pada kadar diskaun berlandaskan nilai pasaran semasa dan ia telah dinilai oleh sebuah badan penilai bebas profesional.

Menurut Timbalan Pengarah Urusan Kumpulan dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif TH, Datuk Johan Abdullah, pembelian plot tanah tersebut adalah sejajar dengan strategi pelaburan hartanah TH yang memberikan tumpuan kepada sektor domestik.

"Pelaburan ini merupakan keputusan komersial yang menepati selera risiko dan telah melalui semua proses penilaian dalaman yang terperinci.

"Pembelian hartanah pada harga RM188.5 juta adalah pada kadar diskaun berlandaskan nilai pasaran semasa dan ia telah dinilai oleh sebuah badan penilai bebas profesional," katanya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.

Terdahulu, Malaysian Digest melaporkan satu dakwaan yang tersebar di beberapa blog menyatakan TH telah membeli satu plot tanah di TRX pada pertimbangan RM2,860 sekaki persegi dengan peruntukan keseluruhan RM194 juta untuk dibangunkan sebuah pangsapuri khidmat setinggi 40 tingkat.

Sementara itu, satu plot lagi akan dibeli pada pertimbangan RM3,900 sekaki persegi membabitkan pertimbangan RM578 juta yang akan dibangunkan dengan sebuah menara 74 tingkat dikenali 'Signature Tower'.

Bagaimanapun, Johan dalam kenyataan sama menafikan dakwaan bahawa TH membeli Signature Tower (Fasa 2) seperti yang dilaporkan beberapa blog.

Dalam perkembangan sama, beberapa blog turut mempersoalkan pembelian tanah 1MDB oleh TH yang dikatakan dibayar dengan kadar berlipat kali ganda daripada harga tanah asal yang dibeli oleh 1MDB sebelum ini.

Berdasarkan rekod, harga tanah di sekitar kawasan berkenaan releven dengan nilaian yang dibeli TH.

Merujuk laporan The Star bertarikh 7 April menyatakan bahawa syarikat Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) juga membeli sebidang tanah milik Kedutaan Jerman di Jalan Kia Peng (berdekatan TRX) dengan harga lebih tinggi iaitu RM259.16 juta atau pada kadar harga RM3,188 sekaki persegi.

Jika dibuat perbandingan, ia jelas menunjukkan harga tanah yang dibeli TH adalah lebih murah berbanding MRCB.

Sementara itu, menurut sumber pasaran hartanah, pemaju hartanah komersial, Kumpulan Mulia dari Indonesia juga sedang berbincang mengenai pembelian tanah 1MDB bagi membangunkan Signature Tower.

- mD