SABAH CONTRIBUTED LAND TO FELDA — THEN PUBLIC MONEY WAS INVESTED IN FGV. NOW TELL US THE FULL FINANCIAL STORY.
By DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN, President Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) calls upon the Sabah Government to immediately disclose the complete financial history of Sabah’s investment in FGV Holdings Berhad following FELDA’s takeover and the subsequent delisting of FGV from Bursa Malaysia.
This question has become even more urgent following Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s openness to a Royal Commission of Inquiry and his call for a forensic audit into FELDA’s enormous losses.
If FELDA is to be subjected to forensic scrutiny, then Sabah’s exposure to the FELDA-FGV structure must also be examined.
And Sabah’s involvement was not insignificant.
SABAH HELD AT LEAST 2.382% OF FGV
Immediately before FELDA’s latest privatisation exercise, published information showed that the Chief Minister, State of Sabah held 1.81% of FGV, while Ekuiti Yakinjaya Sdn Bhd held another 0.572%.
Together, these represented approximately 2.382% of FGV attributable to Sabah interests.
Published shareholder information indicated that the Chief Minister, State of Sabah holding represented approximately 65.93 million shares, while the Ekuiti Yakinjaya holding represented approximately 20.87 million shares.
That is roughly 86.8 million FGV shares associated with Sabah.
These were not private investments made by individual Sabahans.
They involved entities representing Sabah and therefore ultimately concern public wealth.
SABAHANS MUST BE TOLD HOW THE INVESTMENT WAS FINANCED
Of particular concern is a report by *The Edge* stating that both Sabah and Pahang had taken on debt to acquire their FGV shares, and that the potential losses were among the reasons the states did not accept FELDA’s previous RM1.30 privatisation offer.
That raises serious questions requiring immediate answers from the Sabah Government.
How much did Sabah originally pay for its FGV investment?
Which Sabah entity borrowed the money?
How much was borrowed?
From which financial institution?
At what interest rate?
Who approved the borrowing?
How much interest was ultimately paid?
Was the debt fully repaid?
And most importantly:
After taking account of purchase price, borrowing costs, dividends and disposal proceeds, did Sabah make money or lose money from FGV?
These figures should not be difficult for the Sabah Government to produce.
FROM RM4.55 TO RM1.30
FGV was listed on Bursa Malaysia in June 2012.
Its IPO retail price was RM4.55 per share. FGV says the listing raised approximately RM4.5 billion for the company while FELDA received approximately RM5.5 billion.
Thirteen years later, FELDA launched its 2025 takeover offer at just RM1.30 per share.
That represented a price approximately 71% below the original RM4.55 IPO price.
The independent adviser reportedly valued FGV shares at between RM1.83 and RM1.99, yet FELDA’s offer remained RM1.30.
This makes Sabah’s position especially important.
If Sabah acquired substantial shares around the time of the IPO using borrowed money, the people have every right to know the eventual financial outcome.
DID SABAH SELL AT RM1.30?
FELDA announced its unconditional voluntary takeover on 26 May 2025 at RM1.30 per share.
FGV was subsequently delisted from Bursa Malaysia effective 28 August 2025.
By then FELDA and parties acting in concert held approximately 95.29 of FGV.
BoPiMaFo therefore asks the Sabah Government directly:
Did Sabah accept FELDA’s RM1.30 offer?
If yes:
What date did Sabah sell?
How many shares were sold?
What was the total consideration received?
Did both the Chief Minister, State of Sabah holding and the Ekuiti Yakinjaya holding accept the offer?
Where were the proceeds placed?
How much outstanding debt was repaid from those proceeds?
And what was Sabah’s final realised loss or profit?
If Sabah did **not** accept the offer, then the Government must explain:
Does Sabah still own shares in the now-unlisted FGV?
What percentage does Sabah presently hold?
What rights does Sabah retain as a minority shareholder?
And what is the current independently assessed value of those shares?
There should be no ambiguity about an investment involving tens of millions of shares held on behalf of Sabah.
AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE SCALE OF THE QUESTION
At RM1.30 per share, approximately 86.8 million shares would have a gross value of roughly **RM113 million.
That figure alone demonstrates why disclosure is necessary.
But BoPiMaFo stresses that the real financial outcome cannot be determined merely by comparing RM1.30 with RM4.55.
The proper calculation must include:
**Original acquisition cost
* borrowing costs
* interest and financing charges
dividends received
any other distributions or benefits
disposal proceeds
Sabah’s true net gain or loss.
That calculation should now be published.
BUT SABAH’S FELDA STORY DID NOT BEGIN WITH FGV
There is a much larger historical issue.
Sabah’s relationship with FELDA goes back decades before the FGV listing.
Under the arrangements dating from 4 December 1979, approximately 247,000 acres of Sabah land were reportedly made available for FELDA development involving cocoa and oil palm and associated rural development objectives.
So we now have two interconnected accountability questions.
First:
What happened to Sabah’s approximately 247,000 acres associated with FELDA?
Second:
What happened to Sabah’s subsequent financial investment in FGV?
These questions should be examined together.
Because Sabah appears to have contributed at two levels:
land on the one hand, and public financial investment on the other.
The Government must therefore tell Sabahans what Sabah received in return.
DO NOT CONFUSE FELDA WITH FGV
BoPiMaFo also wishes to clarify an important point arising from public discussion.
FELDA did not simply “change its name” or “convert itself” into FGV.
They were distinct legal entities.
FELDA remained the Federal Land Development Authority, while FGV became the commercial agribusiness entity that was publicly listed in 2012.
FGV itself records that it was listed on Bursa Malaysia on 28 June 2012 and that a major land lease arrangement existed between the FELDA group and FGV structures.
FGV has since been taken private under FELDA’s control.
That corporate distinction actually makes the need for disclosure even greater.
Sabahans must know precisely:
Which entity controls the Sabah land?
Is it FELDA?
FGV?
FGV subsidiaries?
Other related companies?
What land was leased?
What land was alienated?
What land remains State land?
What are the terms?
And when do those rights expire?
WE CALL FOR ONE COMPLETE FORENSIC ACCOUNT
BoPiMaFo therefore calls upon the Sabah Government to commission and publish a Sabah FELDA-FGV Forensic Land and Investment Report covering the entire relationship from 1979 to the present.
The report should disclose:
1. The original FELDA agreements involving Sabah land.
2. The total acreage involved historically and presently.
3. The titles, leases, tenure and present registered interests.
4. The settlers promised and actually established.
5. The number of Sabahans who became settlers or obtained individual titles.
6. All financial payments made to Sabah.
7. Sabah’s original FGV share acquisition.
8. The precise number and classes of shares acquired.
9. The acquisition price.
10. All borrowing used to finance the acquisition.
11. Total financing and interest costs.
12. All dividends and distributions received.
13. Whether the shares were sold during FELDA’s 2025 takeover.
14. The price and total proceeds if they were sold.
15. The present ownership position if they were not sold.
16. Sabah’s final net profit or loss from the entire investment.
TABLE IT IN THE STATE ASSEMBLY
This information should not merely be disclosed through an occasional press conference.
BoPiMaFo calls upon the Sabah Government to prepare a **White Paper* and table it before the Sabah State Legislative Assembly.
Every supporting agreement and material financial figure should be available for scrutiny.
There is no legitimate reason for secrecy.
If Sabah made a profit, tell Sabahans.
If Sabah suffered a loss, tell Sabahans.
If the investment was financed by debt, explain who authorised it and why.
If there are continuing assets or shareholder rights, identify them.
If FELDA or FGV continues to control enormous areas of Sabah land, disclose the legal basis.
ZAHID’S FORENSIC AUDIT MUST INCLUDE SABAH
Deputy Prime Minister Zahid’s call for a forensic audit presents an opportunity to finally establish the complete historical picture.
BoPiMaFo therefore calls upon the Federal Government to ensure that any forensic audit or RCI into FELDA includes a dedicated examination of:
FELDA’s land arrangements in Sabah;
FGV’s Sabah operations and assets;
Sabah’s equity investment in FGV; and
the financial and socioeconomic returns received by Sabah and Sabahans.
A forensic audit cannot merely ask:
Where did FELDA’s billions go?
For Sabah, it must also ask:
Where did our land go?
Where did our investment go?o
What did we receive?
And who ultimately benefited?
## OPEN EVERYTHING
BoPiMaFo is not accusing any individual of wrongdoing.
We are demanding accountability for public assets.
The solution is straightforward.
Publish the 1979 agreement.
Publish the land titles.
Publish the FGV share acquisition records.
Publish the loan agreements.
Publish the dividends received.
Publish the disposal documents.
**Calculate the final profit or loss.*
Then Sabahans can judge for themselves.
For too long, Sabah’s political discourse has focused on announcements while the historical movement of Sabah’s land, assets and public investments receives insufficient scrutiny.
That must change.
SABAH PROVIDED THE LAND.
SABAH INVESTED THE MONEY.
NOW SHOW SABAHANS THE ACCOUNTS.
