Faced with a possibility of a lawsuit, PAS vice-president Husam Musa today challenged caretaker International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed to disclose those who had purchased Felda Global Ventures Holdings Berhad (FGV) shares under the ministry quota.

“Who are the cronies who have been selected? What was the basis of their selection?

“Do the companies which bought the shares (under this quota) still hold them or have they been sold off? What were the profits made if the shares were sold immediately after the initial public offering?” he asked in an open letter distributed to media today.

Mustapa, who is Kelantan Umno chief, last week said that he will sue Husam for purportedly alleging that the former had distributed FGV shares to Kelantan Umno division chiefs.

In its initial public offering last year, 11.5 percent of FGV shares were allocated to bumiputera buyers approved by the ministry.

In contrast, only 2.5 percent of shares were allocated for purchase by Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) settlers. This worked out to 800 shares per household. The shares rallied to a high of RM5.55 a month after its debut at RM4.55 but has since been on a slide.

‘Also disclose recipients of palm oil and car APs’

Claiming that Mustapa had “strayed from the main issue” by threatening to sue, Husam, who is also on the Kelantan caretaker executive council, urged Mustapa to disclose the names of those who benefit from car import approved permits.

“Car import APs are largely held by a handful of cronies who become rich on the back of high car prices which burden the rakyat.

“We are asking that (Mustapa) expose the full list of AP holders and the wealth they had obtained from this system which oppresses the rakyat,” he said in the letter.

NONE Husam ( left ) also urged Mustapa to disclose the names of those who benefited from the duty-free export quota for crude palm oil (CPO), which he termed “palm oil APs”.

“The duties came up to 23 percent, and in 2011, amounted to RM4 billion which went back straight into the pockets of the (quota recipients).

“For the sake of good governance, he should disclose the list which only makes up 50 people. It shouldn’t be too hard,” he said.

He also urged Mustapa to explain why the ministry had chosen to distribute APs for car imports and the quota for duty-free CPO exports to the selected parties.

The CPO duty-free export quota was, however, abolished starting Jan 1, 2013 to among others, reduce feedstock prices for refiners who lost market share to Indonesia.

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