KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — The Kuantan District and Land Office (PDT) has imposed a RM14.7 million fine on Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), purportedly for violating land ownership terms undertaken by its investment arm for a project in Gambang, Pahang.
District officer Datuk Aida Munira Abdul Rafar said the evaluation process for the fine has been completed and the university has been given notice to make the payment, Utusan Malaysia reported today.
“The Kuantan PDT presented a proposal to UiTM to start instalment payments from January to December 2024, including the current annual tax.
“But to date, we have yet to receive any response or payment from UiTM. So Kuantan PDT will issue a notice of demand to the institution starting next year,” she was quoted as saying.
The newspaper reported the district office issued the fine after the university’s investment unit, UiTM Holdings Sdn Bhd, changed the land title for the UiTM Solar Park 1 project in Gambang to “industrial” from “higher education” and charged a bank for it since 2016, thereby violating the land ownership terms.
The Pahang project land was reported to cover 121 hectares.
UiTM vice-chancellor Datuk Shahrin Sahib @ Sahibuddin told the Malay daily that the university is hoping to resolve the issue without making any payment to the Kuantan PDT.
“We have ways and are doing it as well as keeping in touch with the state authorities, hopefully it can be resolved. I cannot reveal the details so that the matter can be resolved without the university suffering any losses.
“It’s the same for the status of the land, we have a solution. The solution is with us and the land office’s side,” he was quoted as saying.
According to Utusan Malaysia, the vice-chancellor declined comment on the publishing of sukuk — an Islamic version of a bond — for UiTM Holdings to execute its solar power project said to finance the solar project estimated at nearly RM300 million, contrary to the terms of ownership that held the land cannot be used as collateral.
Questions had been raised about UiTM’s finances after the latest Auditor-General’s Report 2022 was released last month that highlighted several investment irregularities within the 34-campus institution.
Shahrin told the newspaper that a special committee has been formed and tasked to solve the current predicament faced by UiTM’s investment wing.
The committee is assigned to identify the investments categorised as high risk and to either reduce or eliminate those investments, he said.
“In a three-party meeting with the Public Accounts Committee that was held recently to answer the National Audit Report, UiTM will act by following transparent administration and refer to many stages as required by the audit report.
“Our administration is committed to ensuring UiTM’s administration is based on good governance by having a check and balance system where a party cannot make an important decision alone,” the vice-chancellor was quoted as saying.
