17.02.2012
Anwar claims authorities may be trying to hush up the matter
to protect the Cabinet ministers involved in the deal.
The government’s out-of-court settlement with Tan Sri
Tajudin Ramli may be a cover-up to hide alleged corruption involving Cabinet
ministers, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has alluded.
“My concern is that they are afraid that, with Tajudin
proceeding with the case, he will expose corruption… deals which may involve
the prime minister and finance minister at the time,” Anwar told reporters
during an event in Subang Jaya today.
The PKR de facto leader was responding to Tajudin’s
out-of-court settlement with Pengurusan Danaharta Bhd (Danaharta), which marked
an end to the six-year dispute over millions of ringgit that the former
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chairman owed to the national asset management firm.
The settlement resulted from a directive issued by Putrajaya
in August last year, telling all government-linked companies, including MAS, to
drop their suits against Tajudin.
The settlement comes after a lengthy legal dispute following
a High Court decision in December 2009 ordering the ex-MAS chief to pay the
state asset management manager RM589.14 million plus two per cent interest per
annum, backdated to January 1, 2006.
Today, Anwar said the case was a matter of public interest
as it involved taxpayer funds and should not be settled privately.
Tajudin was said to be the poster boy of Tun Dr Mahathir
Mohamad’s now-discredited policy of nurturing a class of Malay corporate
captains on government largesse. He flew high in the 1990s but fared poorly
during the Asian financial crisis.
The case between Danaharta and the tycoon arose after he
executed a facility agreement on July 13, 1994 to borrow RM1.79 billion from a
group of syndicated lenders to finance his purchase of a 32 per cent stake in
MAS.
However, from 1994 to 1998 he failed to service the original
loan, causing it to become a non-performing loan (NPL).
In 1998, Danaharta acquired the NPL from the lenders but
Tajuddin also failed to settle his debt to Danaharta until it was in default of
RM1.41 billion as at October 8, 2001.
As part of a settlement agreement, Tajudin was to pay RM942
million in four instalments over three years and that he was permitted to
redeem his charged shares at a minimum price per share.
Tajudin, however, defaulted in the payment of the quarterly
interest payable under the settlement agreement and on April 27, 2002, the
plaintiffs terminated the settlement agreement and demanded RM1.61 billion from
him.
On April 29, 2002, Danaharta, together with its units
Danaharta Urus Sdn Bhd and Danaharta Managers Sdn Bhd sold part of the charged
shares consisting entirely of Technology Resources Industries (TRI) shares at
RM2.75 per share, resulting in total proceeds of RM717.39 million.
As at December 31, 2005, the amount outstanding was RM589.14
million and on May 11, 2006, Danaharta and the subsidiaries commenced action to
recover the money.
Tajudin has alleged in his affidavit that it was Dr Mahathir
and Tun Daim Zainuddin who directed him in 1994 to buy a controlling stake in
MAS to bail out the government.
Tajudin claimed that his purchase was a forced “national
service”, disguised as an arm’s length commercial deal, because the government
wanted to appease the investment community and the public.
Dr Mahathir, however, denied in his autobiography published
last March that he and Daim had forced Tajudin to bail out MAS in 1994 for
RM1.8 billion, claiming instead that Tajudin was “elated” over his purchase.(HU)
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