Tabung Haji still evaluating offers for TRX land, says chairman

Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (second right) shakes hands as he arrives at the Tabung Haji open house in Kuala Lumpur today. Abdul Azeez says the body’s investment panel is still evaluating offers made for a parcel of land bought from 1Malaysia Development Berhad. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Najjua Zulkefli, July 28, 2015.

Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) is still evaluating offers for the proposed sale of a parcel of land it bought from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) at Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) earlier this year, its chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said today.

Abdul Azeez told reporters that despite promising a sale for the controversial plot of land back in May, the process was delayed as the body's investment panel was still evaluating the offers made for the land.

"We took two years to buy this land, hence the investment panel is still looking into it. We have three potential buyers," he said.

"We will make an announcement soon," he added when met at Tabung Haji's Raya open house in Kuala Lumpur today.

LTH bought the land for RM188.5 million in late April, 43 times the price 1MDB paid for the same land from the federal government earlier on.

It was planning to build a residential tower on the land, but later announced it would be selling the land following public outcry regarding the purchase.

The purchase was made at a time when 1MDB was struggling to service interest rates for a debt, leading to claims of a bailout by critics. The Finance Ministry-owned investment firm sits on total debts of RM42 billion debt.

Abdul Azeez previously said that LTH would sell the land for a "small" profit of around RM5 million, and said that the sale would be concluded by the end of May. Over two months later, though, no announcement has been made.

- TMI