'Why is Chua silent on MCA's hand in Talam deals?'

Deputy minister Chua Tee Yong should be investigating how the previous BN Selangor government had handed Talam Corporation “thousands of acres of land” and persuaded banks to give the company millions in loans, said Faekah Husin.

The Selangor MB’s political secretary (left) said Chua should be probing the matter instead of challenging MB Adbul Khalid Ibrahim to a debate.

“Before Chua continues his mission to debate, he should really be getting detailed information and answers on how the BN could have surrendered thousands of acres of land to (former Talam chairperson) Tan Ah Chai, who is also an MCA crony.

“He also needs to question how former MCA leaders, or perhaps his father Chua Soi Lek can enlighten him, on how MCA at the time managed to convince the bank to grant hundreds of millions in loans to the MCA crony company (Talam),” she said in a statement today.

“Not just MCA, Chua (right) should really question Umno leaders at the time why they were so careless to surrender land and projects to Chan Ah Chai’s company,” she said.

Faekah said that in fact, Chan was also at the time on the boards of directors of state GLC subsidiaries who had handed land and projects to Talam.

She questioned if Chua therefore had the legitimacy to question the present state government’s efforts to recover Talam’s decade long debt that was “left untouched” by BN.

“Why is he so busy making an issue with Selangor when he is voiceless even on the issues under his own ministry?” she added.

'Chua seeking cheap publicity’

Yesterday Chua, who is Labis MP and son of MCA chief Chua Soi Lek, countered challenges from DAP to debate the Talam issue with his own challenge to Khalid.

Chua, who has been trying to stir up an issue over Selangor’s recovery of an outstanding debt from Talam, had refused DAP’s Tony Pua’s (right) challenge for a debate on the excuse that Pua had only “third-hand information”.

Faekah responded that on the contrary, Pua had first hand information direct from the MB and the relevant officers, of the complex debt recovery exercise that gave the state RM392 million in recovered debts.

She accused Chua of seeking “cheap publicity” to boost his chances in the next general election.

“We do not stop him from seeking cheap publicity in the run up to GE13, but let the issues raised be relevant according to priority.

“For example, the issue of the abuse of the RM250 million soft loan to National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) that comes under his own ministry. What has Chua done?

“He has not taken any action whatsoever that would make the Chinese community proud,” she said.

Chua, who is deputy agriculture minister, has not commented on the NFC scandal where a loan meant for the cattle industry has allegedly been used by the family members of former women, family and community minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil to purchase properties and other unrelated expenses.

To date, only Shahrizat’s husband, NFC chairperson Mohamad Salleh Ismail, has been charged on four counts over one of the purchases, of two luxury condominium units at the One Menerung complex in Bangsar.