PKR may soon find itself homeless after the landlord that owns the property where the party's headquarters is located failed to service the bank loan, resulting in the building being put up for auction.
PKR is currently renting their five-storey premises from a company with a monthly rental of between “RM10,000 and RM20,000".
However, the landlord has not been servicing the loan and the bank wants to auction off the shoplot property in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya.
Confirming this with Malaysiakini, PKR treasurer-general William Leong said that the bank auction will be on June 9.
“We are only renting. The landlord didn't pay. It is not our loan so we don't owe any banks. We're only the tenant.
“I don't know why they didn't pay. Maybe (the landlord) had problems with their other businesses and couldn't service their loan,” said Leong, who is also the Selayang MP.
In 2008, the party relocated from a tiny office in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur to the present premises in upmarket Merchant Square Tropicana.
Leong said that the party is considering several options, including relocating.
“We can also maybe continue renting from the new owner, or we can buy the property ourselves,” he said.
Is Soh Chee Wen the landlord?
When asked why the party did not buy the shoplots unit in the first place, he said that it was to conserve the party funds for its 'operations'.
“We have not come to a decision yet. It still depends on discussions with the party leadership,” he continued.
When pressed on the identity of their landlord, Leong who has been the party treasurer since 2008, was tight-lipped, pleading ignorance.
“I can't remember lah, I'll have to check and get back to you,” he said.
But when asked if the building was owned by businessman Soh Chee Wen, Leong denied it.
Soh was a PKR ally-turned-foe, who was said to have helped the party financially for a period between 2007 and 2009.
PKR is currently renting their five-storey premises from a company with a monthly rental of between “RM10,000 and RM20,000".
However, the landlord has not been servicing the loan and the bank wants to auction off the shoplot property in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya.
Confirming this with Malaysiakini, PKR treasurer-general William Leong said that the bank auction will be on June 9.“We are only renting. The landlord didn't pay. It is not our loan so we don't owe any banks. We're only the tenant.
“I don't know why they didn't pay. Maybe (the landlord) had problems with their other businesses and couldn't service their loan,” said Leong, who is also the Selayang MP.
In 2008, the party relocated from a tiny office in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur to the present premises in upmarket Merchant Square Tropicana.
Leong said that the party is considering several options, including relocating.
“We can also maybe continue renting from the new owner, or we can buy the property ourselves,” he said.
Is Soh Chee Wen the landlord?
When asked why the party did not buy the shoplots unit in the first place, he said that it was to conserve the party funds for its 'operations'.
“We have not come to a decision yet. It still depends on discussions with the party leadership,” he continued.
When pressed on the identity of their landlord, Leong who has been the party treasurer since 2008, was tight-lipped, pleading ignorance.“I can't remember lah, I'll have to check and get back to you,” he said.
But when asked if the building was owned by businessman Soh Chee Wen, Leong denied it.
Soh was a PKR ally-turned-foe, who was said to have helped the party financially for a period between 2007 and 2009.
However, it is understood that Soh fell out with the party leadership shortly after that.
Telephone calls to Soh for comments went unanswered.
Leong also said that while PKR has been diligently paying rent every month, he was also unsure of its exact rental amount.
“The rental average is RM2,000 per floor. So we pay about RM10,000 to RM20,000 a month,” he said.
The bank auction notice has already been put up near the Merchant Square premises.
When Malaysiakini called the phone number included in the notice, a woman on the other line confirmed that 10 units are being auctioned off. The unit addresses are currently occupied by PKR.
The initital bidding sum is roughly RM460,000 to RM1 million per unit, depending on what floor it is located.
Telephone calls to Soh for comments went unanswered.
Leong also said that while PKR has been diligently paying rent every month, he was also unsure of its exact rental amount.
“The rental average is RM2,000 per floor. So we pay about RM10,000 to RM20,000 a month,” he said.
The bank auction notice has already been put up near the Merchant Square premises.
When Malaysiakini called the phone number included in the notice, a woman on the other line confirmed that 10 units are being auctioned off. The unit addresses are currently occupied by PKR.
The initital bidding sum is roughly RM460,000 to RM1 million per unit, depending on what floor it is located.
We're not 'in danger' of eviction
In an immediate reaction, PKR vice-president Tian Chua dismissed suggestions that the party was 'in danger' of being evicted since there is still a binding lease contract.
He said that the party had signed a six-year contract back in 2008, which means that they still have three more years before their lease expires.
"If a new owner were to take over, they still need to follow procedures as stated in the contract including giving an early notice and compensation if they were to evict us.
"The bank also offered us priority to be the first bidder because we are the tenants. So it really is not the issue," he said.
He said that the party had signed a six-year contract back in 2008, which means that they still have three more years before their lease expires."If a new owner were to take over, they still need to follow procedures as stated in the contract including giving an early notice and compensation if they were to evict us.
"The bank also offered us priority to be the first bidder because we are the tenants. So it really is not the issue," he said.
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