Wee: Show proof of money trail for consulate building in HK
FINANCE Minister Lim Guan Eng should show proof that a deposit had been paid to the government over the RM1.68bil offer for the Malaysian consulate building in Hong Kong, says MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
Dr Wee questioned the authenticity of the unnamed offer letter expressing an interest in purchasing the building, as it was riddled with grammatical errors.
“They need to show proof of the amount of money received by the Treasury.
“Please accept the challenge or I will expose more,” he told reporters yesterday.
On Tuesday, the two got into a heated argument in the Dewan Rakyat after Dr Wee said the valuation of the property had been carried out by industry players in Hong Kong who valued it at HK$1.6bil (RM830mil), and not RM1.68bil which Lim had earlier claimed.
Following the shouting match, Lim told reporters that he would furnish the offer letter from an interested party wanting to buy the property at RM1.68bil.
Lim on Wednesday produced the letter during a press conference, held before Dr Wee’s.
Lim claimed that the sale of the building was approved by the previous government for RM1.1bil through direct negotiation.
He added that the Pakatan Harapan government had intervened and held an open tender, whereupon it received offers as high as RM1.68bil.
Dr Wee said the most important part was for the government to show evidence of the offer letter and the copy of the deposit.
“If Lim manages to sell it at a better price, I will praise and give him a standing ovation, but this is too early,” he said.
“We need to scrutinise the letter properly.”
At a separate press conference, DAP central committee member Wong Kah Woh said the offer letter stated the offer for the Malaysian consulate building in Hong Kong along with the price of RM1.68bil.
On a separate matter yesterday, Dr Wee questioned Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir’s clarification on the national debt in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP).
He said Bank Negara statistics revealed that the national debt ratio against the GDP had gone up.
Dr Wee added that the national debt stood at RM741.1bil last year with the GDP of RM1.429tril, which was a debt percentage ratio of 51.8%.
This is higher than the national debt percentage ratio of 50.7% in 2017, where the debt stood at RM686.8bil with the GDP of RM1.353tril.
“This shows inaccuracy of data and we hope the Finance Minister can reveal the accurate figure,” said Dr Wee.
Earlier in the Dewan, Dr Mahathir told lawmakers that the government was in a better footing to manage the economy as it had managed to lower the national debt ratio.