Former defence minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein told to take responsibility for the land swap fiasco that happened during his tenure, regardless of whether he personally benefited.
Brig-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji, President of The National Patriots Association (Patriot), said it was appalling for Hishammuddin to challenge Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu and his deputy Liew Chin Tong to state if he personally benefited from the Defence Ministry land swap deals.
“It is a big shame that he knew no shame,” said Arshad, referring to the former defence minister.
“His advising of Mohamad Sabu and Liew Chin Tong, ‘if they live in glass houses, don’t throw stone’ is a laughable attempt to deflect guilt to the current defence minister and his deputy, and akin to putting veil over one’s guilt.
“Like one in a similar flock, the trait could be observed in the behaviour of his former boss who shamefully proclaimed ‘Malu apa, Bossku’,” he said.
Hishammuddin threw a challenge to Mohamad after the latter tabled the Governance, Procurement and Finance Investigating Committee report at Dewan Negara last Thursday.
“I challenge Mat Sabu and Chin Tong to prove that I have personally benefitted financially and politically.
“My advice to them both is that if they live in glass houses, don’t throw stones,” he said.
Hishammuddin also said that any investigation must include all former prime ministers and defence ministers.
Mohamad and Liew, he added, were being “selective in this matter and are politicising the issue”.
Hishammuddin then questioned what the duo had done for the ministry over the past year since the last general election, besides finding fault with the previous administration.
“What are Mat Sabu’s and Chin Tong’s plans for the future? Our armed forces have the right to know,” he said, adding that most of the army camps in the country need to be upgraded.
Mohamad alleged that 13 of the 16 land swaps carried out during Barisan Nasional’s (BN) administration involved Hishammuddin as well as former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The 16 deals allegedly took place in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur; Tanah Batu Uban, Penang; Bukit Raja and Bandar Kinrara, Selangor; Plentong, Johor; Tanah Rata, Pahang; and, Stampin, Sarawak.
Mohamad claimed there were many discrepancies, including the sale of land below market value or granting of projects to unqualified developers leading to losses of more than RM500 million.
Some of the land swap deals had also occurred when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the fourth prime minister from 1981 to 2003.
However, Mohamad denied that the premier was involved in these deals.
The defence minister then was Syed Hamid Albar.
Arshad also urged investigations to be conducted on all defence minister who served from 1997 until May 2018.
“Whether Hishammuddin directly benefited from the notorious deals is up to the investigations of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the police.
“Action be taken against those officials who failed to ensure that the land swap deals be conducted in accordance to Standard Operating Procedures,” he said.
He said there was also “outrages interference for political interest” and in choosing the land swap locations specifically to help BN politicians win votes in four camps ― Hutan Melintang, Perak, Segamat and Paloh, Johor, and Bera, Pahang.
“The implementation of the land swap deals was not planned thoroughly with no proper due diligence conducted when appointing developers resulting in uncompleted projects, completed projects of unsatisfactory quality, and projects not even started.
“It is a crying shame that some of the camps had to be closed down after the general election,” he said.