PAC chief Hasan Arifin said the company, Hannan Corporation Sdn Bhd (HCSB) was found to have billed for its farms – the Selinsing Aquaculture Complex and Pulau Gula Aquaculture Complex – to two different government agencies.

He said HCSB was found to have acquired funding for the farms through the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) and the National Key Economic Area (NKEA).

“For the purpose of (attaining) funding from NCIA, the company had informed (NCIA) that the farms’ cost was RM150 million, and they entered into a contract in January 2011,” Hasan said in a statement today.

“For NKEA, the company said the farm cost was RM353 million and the contract came into effect from October 2011,” he added.

“To date, the amounts disbursed by NCIA and NKEA to the company were RM25.18 million and RM31.24 million respectively.”

He also said that the company was found to have made claims for several of the same components from both NCIA and NKEA.

Furthermore, HCSB lacked experience and expertise in the aquaculture industry, he added.

Hasan said the PAC today tabled the report on this matter in the Dewan Rakyat.

The parliamentary select committee has also called the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry’s secretary-general Dr Ismail Bakar to look into the matter.

He also recommended that the National Audit Department write a detailed report on the PAC’s findings, saying the department has proposed to appoint a third party to review the costs of HCSB’s farms.