MB to explain Talam deal at Selangor assembly

The Selangor government will provide the details of its debt restructuring exercise with Talam Corporation Bhd during the state assembly sitting, which begins on Monday.

The state will do the necessary to explain the process to the media and also, the state's intention to sue MCA, Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said at a press conference in Gombak today.

"Let them reveal everything they have. First it was RM1 billion, then it was RM260 million. I'm having fun listening to their claims," Khalid said, laughing when asked on the Selangor's next course of action.

MCA Young Professionals Bureau chief Chua Tee Yong claimed that debt restructuring deal with Talam was a bailout, that the state had forked out more than RM260 million to rescue the ailing construction firm through complicated accounting.

Talam, which was involved in a number of joint venture housing projects with the state government, ran into financial trouble, resulting in several projects being abandoned.

This led to the state's intervention to ensure that the projects were completed.

Chua said the state received RM392 million worth of assets from Talam in an deal to offset the debt it owed the state.

Khalid said yesterday that Selangor would take MCA to court as the accusations were untrue and tarnished the image of the state government.

Talam also rubbished Chua's allegations, saying that the accusations were "baffling" as it had worked its way out of debt by completing a regularisation plan approved by the Securities Commission on July 1, 2009.