Felda abuse: Kadir wants Putrajaya to zero in on Indonesian tycoon

Veteran newsman A Kadir Jasin today suggested that Putrajaya to scrutinise Indonesian tycoon Peter Sondakh's interest in Malaysia as efforts to stop the bleeding in Felda.

Kadir, who is also the special media adviser to the prime minister, said this is due to Sondakh's role in aiding then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak who, along with his allies, cooked up deals that were detrimental to Felda for political interest.

"In the effort to recover Felda's funds, or at the very least to limit losses and stop the haemorrhaging, Sondakh's assets and interest in Malaysia should be considered.

"He has many properties in Malaysia including a number of luxury hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi which were either purchased or built with cheap financing by local banks, particularly Bank Pembangunan or partnership with Khazanah Nasional Berhad," he said.

Kadir, writing on his blog in his personal capacity, also highlighted Felda's decision to purchase a 37 percent stake in Engle High Plantations Tbk (EHP), a company owned by Sondakh's Rajawali Group, for 344.2 percent higher than the shares price on the open market in 2016.

The deal was listed in the Felda White Paper amongst several transactions that led Felda to its dire financial straits.

The Eagle High deal contains a put option that can force Rajawali to buy back the stake under certain conditions.

The new Pakatan Harapan-led government has exercised this option but Rajawali is resisting the move, claiming that the put option is not being properly exercised.

Kadir, who is also a Bersatu supreme council member, accused several BN leaders of being responsible in the "rape of Felda".

However, Kadir said it was unfortunate that many Felda settlers do not understand or believe that a "corporate rape" had taken place in Felda and is blaming the current government.

He said the current government has been working to salvage Felda and has injected RM6.3 billion as part of a rescue plan.