Astacanggih buyout to silence Deepak, claims Rafizi

UPDATED @ 03:47:43 PM 29-12-2012

By Zurairi AR

December 29, 2012

Rafizi said PKR will now attempt to derail Boustead’s acquisition of Astacanggih. — File pic

PETALING JAYA, Dec 29 ― Boustead Holdings Bhd’s acquisition of an 80 per cent stake in Astacanggih Sdn Bhd is an attempt to silence controversial carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan, PKR’s Rafizi Ramli alleged today.

The PKR strategy director also accused Defence Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi of abusing his power by spending public money through government investment fund Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), which owns Boustead, to acquire the loss-making property development company.

“This is worse than a bailout ... this is outright bribery to practically pay off and silence (Deepak),” Rafizi told a press conference here.

The politician added that if the recent allegations made by Deepak over the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu had not been considered serious, it was unlikely that LTAT would have proceeded with the buyout.

Deepak recently also exposed an alleged deal between Awan Megah Sdn Bhd, the company owned by Selangor Wanita Umno chief  Senator Datuk Raja Ropiaah Abdullah, and the federal government for the a parcel of land involved in the acquisition by Boustead.

He said that Deepak’s allegation had likely “frightened” the Barisan Nasional (BN) government so much that it had instructed Zahid to proceed with the move.

Rafizi claimed that acquiring Astacanggih was not a sound investment, and Zahid was being irresponsible by jeopardising the contributions of armed forces members through Boustead and its subsidiary, Bakti Wira Development Sdn Bhd, which financed the deal.

“As the minister responsible for this deed, Zahid must be careful in making sure that the investment made by Bakti Wira will be in the best interest of members of the army,” Rafizi said.

He argued that Astacanggih is a company with poor track record and had failed to file any of its financial statements. It was also burdened with RM98 million of outstanding debt with banking institution Kuwait Finance House.

He also disputed the RM30 million valuation for the stake in Astacanggih,  explaining that the price was achieved through a “willing buyer, willing seller” agreement.

The same type of agreement was used in valuing the price of land going to acquired by Bakti Wira from Awan Megah, which Rafizi claimed was double the price of the land plots adjacent to it.

He referred to report by Utusan Malaysia in December 2005 that said another subsidiary of Boustead, Jendela Hikmat Sdn Bhd, had acquired a 236ha land for RM230 million, or RM390,000 per acre, compared to RM650,000 per acre for the land Bakti Wira is acquiring.

Rafizi further claimed that the government will be paying Awan Megah RM130 million for a piece of land that is yet to be transferred to the company.

“I echo Deepak’s claim ... that it is akin to the federal government paying RM130 million to Awan Megah for land that does not exist,” he added.

Rafizi also stressed that PKR will be concentrating on this issue in coming days, and will use any means possible to stop the deal from going through.

Yesterday, Deepak had said that he was forced to sell his company to cover the losses incurred in a deal with the Selangor Wanita Umno chief that went sour.

On Thursday, the controversial businessman withdrew his lawsuit  against Putrajaya for an alleged breach of agreement over land in Bukit Raja, Selangor on the same day Boustead reported it bought an 80 per cent stake in Astacanggih for RM30 million.

Deepak has made various allegations about the deal that involved Raja Ropiaah, but has disappeared from public view since December 13.

But he resurfaced yesterday to explain the sale of his firm to Boustead.

“My shareholders and me have sold our shares in Asta Canggih for RM30 million which is our actual cost price. RM13 million (for) Raja Ropiah, RM8 million political contribution, RM7 million financial cost, RM2 million legal and miscellaneous cost, as this ultimatum was forced upon us,” Deepak said in a text message.

State news agency Bernama reported that in a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Boustead said its wholly-owned unit, Bakti Wira Development Sdn Bhd, acquired the shares from Prestige Dimension Sdn Bhd and other minority shareholders of Astacanggih on December 20.

Bakti Wira Development and Astacanggih also signed an agreement with Awan Megah to acquire 80.94ha of freehold land in Klang, Selangor, for RM130 million.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/astacanggih-buyout-to-silence-deepak-claims-rafizi/

Zahid Hamidi must be fired!

Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad is a member of the PAS central working committee and MP of Kuala Selangor.

September 23, 2012

SEPT 23 ― Will the public take it lying down, now that the Defence Minister, DS Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, has conveniently shifted all blame to the suppliers?

While his pretentious response about not knowing whether the allegation of the Johor Sultan was indeed true was deplorable enough, his admission of the fact that the supplier would be taken to court for misleading them in term of bloated prices is even more shocking. Was he asleep on the job?

Is he now admitting the fact that he had totally relied on this one supplier for all information regarding the Rapid Intervention Vehicle (RIV), including its price tag?

Was it again a case of procurement not done through an open tender i.e. it escaped comparison of prices and specifications?

Is he also admitting the fact that the ‘supposedly sophisticated and elaborate’ procurement process (given during our meeting with him in his ministry) has failed to detect this vast difference in the price, assuming that the Johor Sultan was correct at making an ‘apple to apple’ comparison?

On the contrary, the public could still recall that on September 8, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, who presented a unit of RIV to the Special Forces Regiment, expressed his disappointment that military equipment was lacking in quality yet purchased at exorbitant prices. His claim that his RIF was superior and yet he bought it for RM540,000 cheaper than the price paid by the ministry. So it’s not even an ‘apple to apple’ comparison.

Unusually high prices paid for military equipment had led Pakatan Rakyat to call for the setting up of a Parliament Oversight Committee to review and monitor defence expenditure on numerous occasions in recent past.

Pakatan Rakyat represented by three members of parliament from DAP, PAS and PKR, in January this year met with the Defence minister with a suggestion that a parliamentary oversight committee be formed to provide check and balance to the country’s defence expenditure. The meeting was also attended by its chief secretary Ismail Ahmad, army generals as well as Barisan Nasional MPs.

In recent months, Pakatan Rakyat has also questioned the inflated costs of several new arms deals proposed by current Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi, which includes the purchase of 30 Eurofighter, Typhoon jets and 6 naval patrol boats. 

Earlier, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR had expressed concern at another RM2 billion directly-negotiated government procurement contract Network Centric Operations with Sapura Secured Technologies Sdn Bhd, on the basis that it can potentially waste millions of ringgit more of taxpayers’ money. 

The controversial deals linked to Najib include the 2 Scorpene and one Agosta submarines purchase in 2002 worth RM7billion, 18 Sukhoi jetfighters in 2003 worth RM3.5billion, the 12 Eurocopters EC275 helicopters in 2008 worth RM2.3billion, the ongoing RM52billion MRT system for the Klang Valley, 38 units of EMU costing half a billion RM extra and a multi-billion ringgit slush fund within the 1MDB project are some obvious ones. The list of much-to-be-desired mega procurements in mega projects is indeed a very long one.

The government has yet to date, provide for specific details of equipment and services which makes the difference between the acquisition cost of RM7.55 billion relative to the base system of only RM1.7 billion in the case of the controversial procurement of the littoral combat ships (LCS – Frigate Class).

Even WikiLeaks has reported a diplomatic cable between the US Embassy in Malaysia and the United States that alleges corruption in Malaysia’s defence procurement in which Umno politicians, agents, civil servants and military officials routinely receive 30 per cent “commission” on deals. That’s a very serious allegation worthy of the nation’s attention.

Although national security is a serious issue, Malaysians are beginning to insist that the defense ministry be transparent and accountable on procurements that run into billions of ringgit. Pakatan is not going to be listening to ‘sweet talk’ of ministers anymore if it doesn’t end in serious action in term of improving good governance ― transparency and accountability.

Najib’s commitment of effecting both ‘Political and Economic Reforms’, presumably in turn of governance as well, is fast turning into a farce, a mockery of sort. His commitment to an ‘open-tender’ process, without its attending transparency,  with respect to the award of mega-project namely the LRT and MRT (and now the IPPs by the Energy Commission), has left many in the lurk of what had truly transpired and how transparency has been severely compromised and subverted. The mention of George Kent has now become a ‘bad word’, well, almost. 

On the verge of a critical General Election, the irresponsible action of a minister like Zahid Hamidi is fast turning to be construed as an act of subversion to his boss. His ignorance very baffling and appalling at best and his pretension is very hypocritical indeed. He needs no reminder that the bulk stops at him. 

He must be fired before his boss gets to be ousted by the electorates!

* Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Executive Director of PAS Research Centre and MP for Kuala Selangor.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/article/zahid-hamidi-must-be-fired/

美国大使馆称存台底交易，国防采购黑钱或流向巫统

2012年07月07日，下午12.52

20

【本刊梁志华撰述】除了潜水艇和装甲车两宗广为人知的军购案以外，还有许多国防采购项目的背后也牵扯非常复杂的裙带利益关系。比方说，BAE Systems在2006年7月曾获得我国政府发出的一份意向书，确定向前者采购两艘Jebat级护卫舰。这项被称为“Brave”计划的护卫舰采购合约总值达7亿英镑（或14亿美元）。

更重要的是，这项计划是由BAE Systems与国阵最大执政党——巫统掌控的Realmild 控股携手合作的项目。值得注意的是，这项计划是在前首相阿都拉时代批准（当时纳吉是国防部长），而Realmild 控股在当时是负责掌控巫统资产的旗舰公司。这基本上凸显出巫统在国防采购项目中，也扮演非常重要的角色。

Realmild 控股在马哈迪时代是马资源（MRCB）的最大股东，并曾一度掌控新海峡时报集团和第三电视。前首相阿都拉（左图）掌权后，着手重组巫统旗下企业控股，通过数家控股公司，包括Realmild 控股、Pesaka Consolidated及Temasek Padu，分别掌控巫统的党资产。其中，Realmild 控股更获得阿都拉重用，成为掌管巫统资产的旗舰公司。


美国驻马大使馆还指出，马来西亚很多政府竞标合约并没有遵守采购条规来行事。相反地，政府采购合约频频出现没有任何竞标过程的“台底合约”（shadowy contracts），合约颁发结果主要取决于“金钱政治”的流向，即颁发这些政府合约的同时，一部分的资金必须通过不同管道，流回政治人物或巫统的口袋。

来源：http://www.merdekareview.com/news_v2.php?n=25671

Secret documents sold to French company

Teoh El Sen

 | May 31, 2012















The evaluation documents by the Malaysian Navy on the Scorpene submarine was sold for RM142 million.

PETALING JAYA: A highly-confidential government document — an evaluation by the Malaysian Navy of the Scorpene-class submarine and contract details — was allegedly sold to a French defence company for 36 million euros (RM142 million), according to human rights NGO Suaram.

Lawyers acting for the Suaram in an ongoing French judicial inquiry said that the secret document was sold by Terasasi (Hong Kong) Ltd to French defence giant DCNS, ostensibly for “commercial engineering” works.

This was among the major aspects that the French investigative judge probing the case lodged by Suaram against Paris-owned shipmaker DCNS for alleged corruption are looking at.

According to French lawyer acting for Suaram, Joseph Breham, the French judge had inquired what those payments were and had demanded reports of financial transactions.

The lawyer had said it was even possible that Thales, a subsidiary of DCN, decided to pay the money to obtain the classified document so that it could better its bid for the project.

Directors of the Hong Kong-based Terasasi include Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s close ally Abdul Razak Baginda and the latter’s father Abdul Malim Baginda.

The secret document was allegedly sold to Thales International, also known as Thint Asia, which is a subsidiary of DCN (later known as DCNS).

DCNS is the company central in the legal suit filed by Suaram in 2009 in the French courts, which recently commenced a judicial inquiry at the Tribunal De Grande Instance in Paris.

The inquiry revolves around the RM7.3 billion deal to purchase two Scorpene submarines with DCNS and Spainish Navantia in 2002, when Najib was defence minister. Suaram’s complaint was based on the claim of corruption for a payment amounting to 114 million euros from DCNS to Perimekar.

Perimekar is also directly linked to Abdul Razak who was acquitted of abetting in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu; while two of Najib’s former bodyguards were convicted for the murder.

Speaking to FMT from Bangkok, Suaram director Cynthia Gabriel said that the selling of the secret document for 36 million euro amounted to an act of treason, on top of it being most probably a corrupt act.

“This is downright illegal. Clearly an act of treason as it is a breach of defence secrets by selling state secrets. It is classified as a confidential document by Royal Malaysian Navy for the government, supposed to be in internal document that comes under the Official Secrets Act, and you sold it to a French company? You are not supposed to do this,” she said.

Devious act

Cynthia said this was “one of the big scandals” that had surfaced from the Suaram trial, and the information was among the hundreds of French’s prosecution investigative documents that Suaram currently has privileged access to.

“Indeed a very devious act. There is clearly a possibility of money laundering, or the money could be channeled to various beneficiaries including political organisations in Malaysia. This is corrupt and we think it is a sweetener to buy off some people,” she said.

“We now want to ask who benefited from this? When we went through the Paris papers. these were among the most startling issues. Before this we only know of Perimeker, now there is the emergence of the company Terasasi was actually key many answers, to showing how the money trail became more complicated, involving another Asian country, in the transfer of monies,” she said.

Cynthia said everybody is “shocked at the scale of the robbery” and “there is no longer space for silence”.

“It has become incumbent on the Malaysian government to give a proper explanation on the money that has been dished out. They cannot keep all these away from the public. We believe that there are many more skeletons in the closets and many more secrets that need to be unraveled .”

Cynthia was together with Breham, lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri and R Sivarasa in Bangkok to reveal ‘damning details’ on the Scorpene case. A press conference at the Foreign Correspondence Club of Thailand was held yesterday.

The conference was held in Bangkok as Breham was unable to get a proper visa to enter Malaysia. Another French lawyer acting for Suaram, William Bourdon, was last year deported from Malaysia.

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/05/31/scorpene-scandal-secret-documents-sold-to-french-company/