KUALA LUMPUR – Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi testified to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday over alleged impropriety involving several land swap deals under the Defence Ministry (Mindef).
Onn Hafiz, the fourth witness to testify in the proceedings, had given evidence in his former capacity as political secretary to defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein between 2013 to 2018.
The head of the special committee investigating governance, procurement and finance, Tan Sri Ambrin Buang had previously claimed Onn Hafiz had links to the construction of the camp.
“The PAC investigation zooms into his role in suggesting the construction of the camp Paloh, Kluang starting in 2016,”' said Wong in a statement today.
Prior to Onn Hafiz, the PAC had heard testimonies from Mindef’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Muez Abdul Aziz and deputy secretary-general (development) Datuk Dr Shahrazat Ahmad.
The PAC had also previously called Hishammuddin and Ambrin to give their testimonies as part of the investigations.
In this particular land swap deal, the project which began in 2012 initially involved an army camp in Kinrara, Selangor, the construction of an air force facility in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan, and the construction of an army camp in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.
However, in 2016, the proposal to build an army camp in Port Dickson was switched to the camp in Paloh.
In 2019, former defence minister Mohamad Sabu revealed that internal investigations carried out on 16 land swaps deals under the ministry were initially valued at around RM4.9 billion but had indirectly lost at least RM500 million through their valuations.
In November 2020, PAC began its inquiry into Mindef’s land swap deals between 1995 and 2018 involving 16 plots of land totalling 1,183ha. – The Vibes, July 5, 2022
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