Former minister Rafidah Aziz, in a lengthy open letter tonight, claimed that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had as defence minister proposed the privatisation of over 40,000 hectares of military land across the country to a three-person company.

Rafidah said the proposal was made to the government in 2007 and was already approved and executed.

"I was uneasy and questioned you in the cabinet. How was this unknown company selected?

"I also asked why Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) was not chosen instead for this privatisation. LTAT can then form consortiums with commercial development companies with excellent track records.

"Your response to me, and echoed by the prime minister then, were we will bring in LTAT later. No one else asked any question," she said.

At the time, the prime minister was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Rafidah was the International Trade and Industry Minister.

Rafidah said the privatisation was based on a lease of four decades and done without open tender.

She added that when the prime lands were revalued, the company stood to reap hefty profits.

Rafidah asked Najib to reveal the name of the company and the three individuals behind it, as well as details of the privatisation exercise.

"The rakyat must know all the facts. Please reveal for public knowledge," she said in the letter.

Rafidah also asked Najib to clarify whether several key ongoing projects now involve those privatised military land.

Among the projects she listed were Bandar Malaysia which is on the former Sungai Besi Air Force base, the Majidee camp relocation, the East Coast Rail Link, the KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail project, a large-scale commercial agriculture project and the sale of the Butterworth Air Force base.

The full open letter can be read here. 

Editor's note: An earlier version of this report had cited Rafidah Aziz saying the cabinet meeting in question took place in late 2008. She has since clarified that she had meant late 2007. The necessary correction has been made to this story. The error is regretted.