PKR call: Suspend Perak MB for alleged power abuse

ONCE AGAIN PERAK!!!! BARISAN NASIONAL ZAMBRY NEEDS ALLOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO. THERE ARE MANY LAND-LESS PERAKIANS WHO ARE POOR, BUT NO LAND IS GIVEN TO THE 'REALLY' NEEDY. ONLY UMNOPUTRAS GET EVERYTHING!!!! IS IT FAIR?

Perak PKR wants Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir suspended from his post, or as land committee chairperson, pending probes by the Malaysian Anti Corruption (MACC) for alleged abuse of power in transferring land.

Party state vice chief Chang Lih Kang (right) said this yesterday morning after lodging the second of such reports within eight months against Zambry with the anti-graft body.

The first MACC report that alleged Zambry allocated 10 lots of land to Umno Gopeng division chief Hamzah Mohd Kassim was lodged on Dec 16 last year.

Yesterday's report alleged that 50 acres at Kampung Sungai Itek, Gopeng had been transferred to a company by the name of Safura House of Diamonds for a planned village programme.

According to Chang, also PKR Teja assemblyperson, who was accompanied by four farmers when filing the report, the main shareholder of the company is one major (R) Roslan Zakaria who happens to be Umno Gopeng division deputy chief cum Ipoh City Council councillor.

The heartbreaking part of it is that around 20 aqua and vegetable farmers who had toiled there for more than two decades, had their applications for legal status to the land rejected without reason, according to Chang.

Development priorities lost focus

Instead, the Perak government under Zambry who is also state Umno chief, had chosen to give the land to an allegedly closely connected developer, he said.

He charged that while the federal government was giving priority to the development of agriculture in the country, the Perak government instead seems to accord importance to its Umno cronies.

He also took MACC to task for sitting on PKR reports against the BN state government.

"Cases involving high ranking individuals seem to idle on the desks of the MACC officers as if they are afraid to take action against people who walk in the corridors of power," he said.

"I hope MACC proves us wrong in this case by acting swiftly and prosecute those responsible without fear or favour," he said.

PKR also wants the state government to abrogate the land approval to Safura House of Diamond Sdn Bhd and hand over the disputed plots to the farmers.

Chang also wants Pakatan representatives to be allowed to attend all future land committee meetings to have a check and balance system.

He demanded an explanation from only MCA exco member Dr Mah Hang Soon in the state exco, to explain why he had allowed such blatant abuse of power to take place.

courtesy of Malaysiakini