The Malacca Development Board's (PKNM) purchase of three shop lots has come under scrutiny by the state audit department.

While PKNM's financial statements are annually 'verified' by the auditing department, it is only this year that the purchase in 2002 of three units in the Plaza Melaka Raya shopping complex has come under more detailed inspections by the auditors.

"It is only coincidentally that this year it has been determined that the management of PKNM's properties (generally) is looked at in detail," said a source.

The source affirmed that questions have arisen surrounding the RM4.05 million purchase.

The development board is in the centre of allegations that more than RM600,000 in kickbacks from the payment were made to government officials and a number of others individuals.

Adam Yong Abdullah, a former corporate advisor to Plaza Melaka Raya, came out earlier this month to confess he had received RM50,000 as his share of 'commission' from the sale of the shop lots at inflated prices to the government.

Adam claimed that the total sum of RM607,500 in kickbacks - diverted from public funds meant to assist bumiputera entrepreneurs - was split between a top official of the Entrepreneurial Development and Cooperatives Ministry, Malacca government officials and a broker who put the deal together.

Pressed for details, the source said information regarding the audit cannot be divulged to the public until the state audit report for the year 2006 was tabled in Parliament and the Malacca state assembly.

The tabling of the audit report is expected to be done later this year in September or October.

Why so long?

Another source said while the audit into PKNM's properties management has been pretty much completed, the exercise was still ongoing and was yet to be submitted in its final form to the Auditor-General.

Contacted later, Malacca Audit Department director Rezuoi Abdullah declined to comment on the matter.

The move by the Malacca Auditing Department is in addition to ongoing investigations into the deal by the state Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

Contacted today, Adam said he does not understand why the ACA investigation is taking more than two years.

He said that given the 'open-and-shut' nature of his claims, the numerous supporting documents he provided and his own admission to have colluded in the scam, the ACA should not be taking this long.

"What more do they want?" he asked.

Malacca ACA officials, meanwhile, declined to speak on the case. State director Idris Zaharudin could not be contacted despite numerous attempts.

PKNM had earlier declined to issue a statement on the issue as the case is still under ACA investigations.