MACHANG: Felcra Berhad will fully cooperate with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should an investigation be conducted into the agency’s acquisition of oil palm plantations in Kelantan and Sabah.
Its chairman, Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub, said that to date, the MACC has not contacted him or sought any explanation regarding the matter.
However, he expressed confidence that the commission would carry out any investigation prudently and in accordance with established standard operating procedures.
"I view the MACC as an institution with full integrity. If there is no issue requiring further investigation, the matter may be addressed at the management level. In any case, all decisions related to this investment were made by the Felcra board of directors.
"However, if there are any concerns or doubts, all relevant parties will, of course, be called in by the MACC to provide information and clarification,” he told reporters after officiating the Kampung Angkat Madani (Madani Adopted Village) initiative in Bukit Tiu on Sunday (Dec 14).
He also explained that the acquisition of plantation assets was a decision made by the Felcra board of directors under Transformation 1.0, which was approved in 2022 to ensure the company’s long-term sustainability.
He said the last time Felcra undertook an acquisition or purchase of plantation assets was around 2013, prior to the implementation of the transformation programme.
"However, we are aware that financial constraints do not permit a significant expansion in land area, given Felcra’s current financial position, which is still on the path to recovery,” he said.
Ahmad Jazlan said that all acquisitions made by Felcra do not involve loans from banks or the government, but are financed through the company’s internal resources or capital expenditure derived from profits in its commercial sector, after careful consideration of the appropriateness of the expenditure.
He added that the acquisition of the plantations was based on valuations by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH), with most purchases made below the JPPH-assessed price.
On Dec 5, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said responded to a question from Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) on whether the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had opened an investigation paper based on the Auditor-General’s report concerning Felcra’s alleged mismanagement.
The Auditor-General’s Report 2/2025, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat last July, revealed various leakages and governance weaknesses involving ministries, departments, agencies and government-linked companies, with the total value of audited projects amounting to RM48.87bil.- Bernama
