No deal yet on Splash buyout, says Azmin

CABINET members have poured cold water over Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s claim that the Selangor government will pay RM2.7bil for Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings (Splash) in a deal that will benefit a “Tan Sri”.

Negotiations, said Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, were still ongoing.

“I was told that negotiations were extended for another month with the Cabinet's approval,” he told reporters.

The former Selangor mentri besar said the July 4 deadline was extended after he left the negotiations to his successor Amirudin Shari.

Although he acknowledged that he was not privy to details of the current negotiations, Azmin said he was certain that the state would offer a “reasonable and fair” price for Splash.

An independent evaluation on Splash, he pointed out, was carried out two years ago to ensure that the deal would be in the best interest of the people in the state.

Najib had made the claim on Wednesday while campaigning for Barisan Nasional in the Sungai Kandis byelection.

The former prime minister also alleged that the deal would benefit a “Tan Sri” who has a 30% stake in Splash, and is a crony of a top Pakatan Harapan leader and a cofounder of a political party.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar, who just a few days ago had denied a report that a deal was reached for a RM1.9bil buyout for Splash, said Najib was “claiming a lot of things”.

Najib, he added, was aware that the federal government had carried out its own independent evaluation of Splash during his administration.

Both Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) and the state government had called for an independent evaluation, he said.

“This will allow us to compare the two evaluations and come up with the best price,” said Dr Xavier, indicating that Air Selangor and Splash were close to reaching an agreement.

An announcement would be made soon, he added.