COUNTRY Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB) founder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew will spill the beans over the ‘mysterious’ RM3 mil third party legal suit which deemed him a bankrupt.
Whether there is a link between his stepping down as CHHB’s executive chairman on Feb 3 as part of the group’s transition with him declared bankrupt by the Shah Alam High Court on Jan 26, will be made known over a media conference at 12.30pm today at the Mines Beach Resort in Seri Kembangan.
“TS Lee Kim Yew is calling a media conference for a RM3 mil bankruptcy brought against him,” read a brief media advisory by CHHB’s corporate communication’s team which further stated that “he (Lee) didn’t file for bankruptcy himself”.
News about the 68-year-old who remains the largest shareholder of CHHB with a 57.64% stake been declared bankrupt went viral after Free Malaysia Today broke the story that its check on the e-Solvency website found that the CHHB founder was declared bankrupt on Jan 26.
CHHB which Lee founded in 1984 is well-known for developing The Mines Resort City in Seri Kembangan, which includes The Mines Resort & Golf Club, Palace of the Golden Horses, The Mines Beach Resort & Spa, The Mines Waterfront Business Park, and the MINES International Exhibition & Convention Centre.
A stock market observer opined that there is nothing shocking over this latest development as the share price of CHHB has been languishing “to a probably an all-time low of 33.5 sen in recent times stemming from cash flow impediments”.
Recall that on March 17, the property group failed to complete the acquisition of a 10-storey office tower, The Heritage Tower @ Mines Wellness City, for RM44.1 mil after its unit failed to pay 90% of the purchase consideration (RM39.69 mil) on time.
“There could be bloodshed today as investors scramble for the exit door regardless of what TS Lee’s justification pans out,” the seasoned stock pundit told FocusM on condition of anonymity.
“Foremost in the mind of stock traders/investors is whether he will sell of his shareholdings to pay off creditors regardless of his track record of being a virtuous business founder by having used his personal wealth to refund investors of the flopped Country Heights Grower Scheme (CHGS) in 2013.”
A research house head who did not want to be named suggested that it is not uncommon for “corporate leaders of TS Lee’s stature to be mired in numerous legal suits over monies owing to debtors”.
“Well, that is one way to look at it … the other question one should ask is that whether the whole chain of event is politically-motivated to silent TS Lee who is perceived to align himself with the wrong crowd for a long while now.”
A staunch supporter of two-time former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the CHHB founder was the 57th prosecution witness in the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Yayasan Akalbudi corruption trial.
At the height of the Johor state polls in March 2022, he was instrumental in campaigning alongside Dr Mahathir who was the then Pejuang chairman by urging the Chinese community to vote for the latter’s party while taking s jab at incarcerated ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak who was “still roaming freely” back then.
Interestingly, Lee’s daughter, Dian, who joined the youth-centric Malaysian United Democratic Party (MUDA) in December 2021 is currently the party’s central executive committee member.
“It’s too premature to speculate anyway … let’s wait to hear from the horse’s mouth which is just hours away,” added the research house head.
Lee is now believed to be pursuing his interest in the blockchain space vis-à-vis his planned “Horse Currency” issuance which is likely to be undertaken through his private and charitable ventures, including his Labuan-licensed Investment Bank and Golden Touch Investment Bank. – April 13, 2023
Main pic credit: The Star
