No Felda hotel sale proposal when I was chairman, says Shabery

Former Felda chairman Ahmad Shabery Cheek has clarified there was no proposal to sell any of the agency's hotels in London during his tenure, which concluded in late June. Shabery informed that Felda owned four properties in London, including two hotels and two student accommodation properties. He expressed concern over the prime minister potentially being misled on the purported sale, and suggested that someone might be exploiting the situation.

Shabery stressed the need to clarify the details of Felda's London properties to differentiate the value of individual properties from that of the total portfolio. He added that decisions on selling Felda assets required directives from various government bodies, including the finance ministry and a committee advising the Prime Minister.

Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the finance minister, refused to endorse a proposed sale of a Felda-owned hotel for £100 million (RM550 million) after being informed it had been bought by the previous management for £160 million. He had been approached by Felda management two months ago for approval of the sale. Anwar has ordered a comprehensive report on the matter, stressing that Felda should not be incurring losses while settlers continue to face income shortages and inadequate basic facilities.