Pontian MP: What happened to Azmin?

REPORTS BY MARTIN CARVALHO, HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM, RAHIMY RAHIM AND TARRENCE TAN

DATUK Seri Azmin Ali’s absence in Parliament caught the attention of Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, who queried the Economic Affairs Minister’s whereabouts.

The Pontian MP stood up during the Minister’s Question Time and asked about Azmin’s absence.

“Where is Azmin Ali? Why is he not around?” he asked.

Deputy Economic Affairs Minister Dr Radzi Jidin said Azmin was attending the Organisation of Pet­roleum Exporting Countries (Opec) meeting in Vienna.

“The minister flew to Vienna for Opec last night,” Radzi said.

Azmin was to answer questions on the Federal Land Development Authority’s (Felda) White Paper.

Radzi said there was no cover-up or delay in taking action after the tabling of the White Paper in April.

“There is no such thing as a cover- up in any of the cases.

“As I mentioned, we respect the process and rule of law,” he told Datuk Johari Abdul (PH-Sungai Petani), who questioned the slow action by the authorities after the document was tabled.

He said following the forensic audit, Felda on April 8 lodged two police reports on eight of the business transactions, overpaying in the purchase of a stake in Indonesian company, Eagle High Plantations Tbk (EHP) and the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City (KLVC) project.“The police are currently investigating EHP and KLVC in detail. Felda will give its full cooperation.

“Felda is also committed to assisting the police in all aspects to ensure that the investigation process goes smoothly,” he said.

He said for the six cases tabled in the White Paper, Felda would act accordingly as soon as possible.

The White Paper contains the forensic studies conducted by Erst & Young on eight of Felda’s investments. It reveals the discrepancies, lack of due diligence and poor risk management by Felda’s board when making investment decisions.