SHAH ALAM (Jan 7): Datuk N Jayaselan, a former director general of the Housing and Local Government Ministry, told the High Court that he and then-minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin met former finance minister Lim Guan Eng twice, in 2018 and 2019, about the Bestari Jaya low-cost housing (PPR) project.
Jayaselan, called by Zuraida as a witness, said his ministry issued a letter of intent (LOI) to Berjaya Group in January 2018 through direct negotiations.
“A letter of intention was issued for the PPR Bestari Jaya project to Berjaya Group but there was no price concluded before the change of government in 2018,” Jayaselan told the court.
After the 13th general election in May 2018, the new government changed policies, switching existing projects from direct negotiations to open tenders.
Jayaselan said the change in policy led the ministry to reject the Bestari Jaya project, even though the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government had approved it under Budget 2018 in October 2017.
The former director general said he accompanied Zuraida to meet Lim sometime in October 2018 to soften the government’s stand with regard to the project.
“In the five-minute meeting with Zuraida, Lim was firm with the decision (that there would be an open tender and no direct negotiation). Our intention for a review was rejected and (we were told) we had to follow the procedures,” he said.
Jayaselan said Zuraida met Berjaya Group’s Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun to explain that the LOI was cancelled by the new government, the project must go through an open tender, and they were seeking the land’s release for proper allocation.
He said he joined Zuraida for a second meeting with Lim between March and May 2019, after Tan approved the land release.
“Following the meeting, Lim asked us to follow through with it (in terms of procedures),” he said.
Jayaselan said he joined both meetings with Zuraida to provide additional project information. Before the first meeting with Lim, they also met his political secretary Tony Pua Kiam Wee, who confirmed that the government’s stance would not change.
When asked by Lim’s lawyer if he had any written notes from the meetings, Jayaselan said no, as the meetings were not personal ones with Lim.
“No invitation letter, email, notes, and minutes were recorded as it was a minister-to-minister private meeting,”Jayaselan said, while testifying in Lim’s defamation suit against former PKR Wanita chief Zuraida, who claimed last year that Lim rejected the Bestari Jaya PPR project, a claim the DAP veteran denied.
The purported Bestari Jaya low-cost housing project was approved by the then-BN government under then-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2018.
It was previously reported that Tan had agreed to donate 20 acres of land to the government for the project to resolve a housing crisis for 345 families of former rubber estate workers from five estates.
On Monday, Lim who was testifying in the suit denied there was a meeting with Zuraida and that there was no formal application submitted on the matter.
Pua, Lim’s former political secretary, testified that he couldn’t remember any meeting with Zuraida and Jayaselan but confirmed there was no written record.
PH govt’s fall reset PPR project
Jayaselan said after the second meeting with Lim, where Lim responded, “Good, and then we move forward from there”, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government fell.
Although Zuraida remained as a minister, the Bestari Jaya PPR project was no longer on the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) list.
“So, we had to start the project all over again from 2022 to 2024 for the project to be on track,” he said.
Jayaselan explained that the 2018 LOI meant the government had approved Berjaya Group as the contractor for the Bestari Jaya project, including the land.
The budget was capped at RM75 million, and any increase required the Housing and Local Government Ministry to seek approval.
Jayaselan added that ministries normally submitted their plans to the EPU, and this project had already been approved in the Budget 2018 submitted in 2017.
Responding to a question from Zuraida’s counsel Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid during re-examination, Jayaselan said that when they asked Lim to relax the open tender requirement, he refused, saying they had to follow Finance Ministry procedures.
“Normally, 99% of the time it would not succeed, only 1% successful. When Lim informed (us) to move forward with this methodology (open tender), we had to follow.
“Unfortunately, the government crumbled and the project needed to be listed back in the (EPU) process,” he added.
Jayaselan said the ministry had hoped the policy would be eased because the project involved housing for estate workers, which was a 2018 PH manifesto priority, and they expected the Bestari Jaya PPR to proceed under the approved LOI.
After the testimony, both sides closed their cases. Judicial Commissioner DR Shoba Rajah set Feb 9 for written submissions, Feb 20 for replies, and Feb 25 to deliver her decision.