On 2 Nov 2024, the Chief Commissioner for MACC reportedly said he has directed his officers to begin a probe into the investment by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) in Fashion Valet Sdn Bhd.
Don’t just stop there.
MACC should also investigate into the sale by Khazanah of their 100% stake in Iskandar Malaysia Studios Sdn Bhd (IMS), the operating company of Iskandar Malaysia Studios which is based in Johor Bahru reportedly to Studio Management Services Sdn Bhd (SMS) which is a consortium led by IMS’s Malaysian management team in partnership with Singapore’s GHY Culture & Media Holding Co Limited and its subsidiary, GHY Culture & Media (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
In June 2023, the then Deputy Finance Minister said Khazanah started the Request for Proposal (RFP) process in March 2021.
So after a period of 2 years, sometime in the 1st quarter of 2023, the best and most viable offer was from a consortium – SMS - comprising the management of IMS and a Singapore company offering to pay RM32 million for 100% of IMS and a cumulative lease rental of RM26 million for the remainder of the lease period of the land and building of 12 years ending in 2036?
The Deputy Finance Minister said IMS, which the consortium was offering RM32 million for 100% of the company is the studio operator company while the assets still remained in the possession of state investment firm Khazanah Nasional Bhd through a special-purpose vehicle (SPV), Tanjung Bidara Ventures Sdn Bhd.
If IMS was just a studio operator company without the assets, why the consortium i.e the buyer was willing to fork out RM32 million for it?
As per Khazanah’s statement as at 16 Dec 2009, IMS is a state-of-the-art facility, costing approximately RM400 million opened in early 2013.
And now 14 years later, what are still retained in IMS for it to be worth RM32 million to the buyer?
And the then Deputy Finance Minister proudly claimed during the 14 years before it was sold, IMS has contributed RM1.2 billion to the local economy and has made available more than 8,000 job opportunities since operations began in June 2014.
Wow, what happened to the 8,000 jobs?
Are the workers / employees still around?
The RM1.2 billion that IMS claimed they contributed to the local economy were in what sectors and where?
How did the management team funded their equity participation in SMS, the consortium that bought IMS?
Hopefully, Khazanah will not explain this away by saying that SMS hired the entire management team of IMS to continue operating.
Were the management team paid severance by Khazanah prior to the sale to SMS?
Who initiated the discussion the sale and RFP process?
The management of Khazanah or the management of IMS?
Similarly, Kidzania, which never made any money under its former management and Khazanah, originally built for RM98 million, was sold for RM3.8 million in 2020.
KIdzania Singapore, which was jointly owned by Khazanah Nasional and Boustead Holdings and built in 2016, at an approximate costs of RM160 million also suffered the same fate and was sold off in 2023.
If MACC do start a probe into the above, maybe they should also review the process into the proposed disposal of Blue Archipelago Sdn Bhd.
According to this report dated 22 June 2020, Khazanah was understood to be considering a price tag of about RM300 million for the Blue Archipelago Sdn Bhd in which it has 100% equity interest via Agri Resources Holdings Sdn Bhd.
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