KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 7): The first witness for the Federal Land Development Authority conceded in High Court on Wednesday that competing bidders for the agency's prime land along Jalan Semarak were not owned by Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd shareholder and director Abdul Rahman Soltan, after initially suggesting otherwise.
The concession came during cross-examination of the witness — former Felda director Mohamed Ghouse Shajahan, 52 — on the second day of the civil suit brought by Felda and its investment arm, Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd (FIC), against 21 defendants, including Abdul Rahman.
Felda and FIC allege that the defendants conspired to defraud them of land valued at more than RM1 billion and exposed them to RM1.7 billion in potential liabilities through the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City (KLVC) project.
The defendants in the suit include former Felda chairmen Datuk Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and Tan Sri Shahrir Samad, several former Felda directors general, master developer Synergy Promenade and its subsidiary Synergy Promenade KLVC Sdn Bhd (SPKLVC), and lawyers.
The plaintiffs contend that Synergy Promenade's appointment as master developer on Jan 24, 2024, was predetermined before the boards of Felda and FIC formally deliberated on the matter.
They claim that Synergy Promenade was the sole legitimate bidder but the FIC board was falsely led to believe during a January 2014 meeting that there were several proposals from different companies. They alleged that the three other competing bids were actually sham submissions from entities secretly owned by Abdul Rahman, who is also a shareholder and director of SPKLVC.
Mohamed Ghouse, who served on Felda’s board from July 26, 2018, to July 25, 2023, first asserted that Abdul Rahman's companies submitted four proposals to Felda and FIC.
Prior to his admission, he was questioned by defence counsel Amrit Pal Singh — who presented ownership filings with the Companies Commission of Malaysia — about his assertion, when the documentary evidence showed that they had different owners. Amrit Pal is representing Abdul Rahman, Synergy Promenade and SPKLVC.
High Court judge Datuk Dr Arik Sanusi Yeop Johari then stepped in and directly asked the witness whether there were actually four proposals submitted by companies linked to Abdul Rahman.
Justice Arik: Were there four proposals from Abdul Rahman to Felda or FIC?
Mohamed Ghouse: Yes, from four different companies. Okay, (maybe) not from Rahman; it was…the companies were all owned by different individuals. Of course, there are three companies connected; there are some common directors and shareholders. But it was not run by…
Amrit: Rahman?
Mohamed Ghouse: It was not owned by Encik Rahman. The companies were not owned by Encik Rahman.
Amrit also suggested that the Felda board directly approached Abdul Rahman to submit proposals to make the land commercially viable, to which Mohamed Ghouse replied he was not aware of the matter.
Meanwhile, SPSB has also filed a counterclaim seeking to compel Felda and FIC to honour the terms of the development agreement. Alternatively, it is seeking over RM1 billion in damages from the plaintiffs as well as the other defendants in the same suit.
The trial continues on Thursday.