A DAP assemblyman owns a plot of leasehold land in Seberang Perai but Parti Cinta Malaysia says it goes against the state government's own land policy.
PRAI: A plot of agriculture leasehold land in Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) district held by a DAP assemblyman has got Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) all riled up.
DAP’s Padang Lallang assemblyman Tan Cheong Heng claims that the land was part of his family’s landed properties.
But PCM says this goes against the Penang state government’s own land policy. In 2008, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced that the state government will not allot land for its elected representatives to purchase.
PCM vice-president Huan Cheng Guan now has raised a question as to how Tan had managed to secure the 2.67acre land on a 60-year lease.
“We are giving the state government until Sunday to explain. If there is no official explanation, we will lodge a graft report next week,” Huan told a press conference here today.
Also present were PCM national treasurer and organising secretary KC Lim and Youth leader Liew Yeow Hooi.
Huan also displayed to the press a map showing the land in question sitting on Lot 1995, Mukim 10, in SPT district in Bukit Mertajam.
Huan claimed that he found the map in his letter box this morning.
Following a check with SPT district land office, he discovered the details behind the land ownership.
When contacted, Tan, 50, instantly dismissed any foul play.
Land given under BN government
The land apparently was already granted to him and his brother Tang Chong Hock, 51, by the SPT district and land office under temporary occupation licence (TOL) in 2002 before his election as state representative in 2008.
According to Tan, the land was under his grandfather’s leasehold ownership until its period expired in 1980s.
He said his family then decided not to renew the lease for some reasons until early 2000 when he and Tang decided to re-acquire the land to run a oil palm plantation.
The brothers got land the land because it was given to them under the previous Barisan Nasional administration.
They have been paying the annual TOL rate until the middle of this year.
In the meantime, they have had applied at least thrice in the past decade to convert the land from TOL to leasehold.
But their applications were twice rejected under the previous government.
Finally, on July 28 this year, their application was approved and the land was registered under both brothers for a 60-year lease, which will expire in 2071.
The registration was done in accordance with Section 384 of the National Land Code (NLC).
They paid an 80 percent discounted premium rate of RM98, 097, which is allowed for family heirs under the NLC, to convert the land title.
The actual premium sum would be RM490,485.
Tan said he had already explained to Lim about the land during a meeting back in 2008.
He said Lim had been assured then that given that his land was inherited family property, the ruling prohibiting land purchase by the elected representatives did not apply.
Pointing out that this was not a new issue, Tan said he could not understand why PCM was making a big “ooh aah” about it.
What the idiots in PCM are trying to achieve by bringing up this matter to the news?
ReplyDeleteIf there is any descripency they should 1) report the matter to the police and 2) write to the Anti-corruption agengy with facts and figures.
This is not a matter of Public Issue or Interest.
If the PCM guys are making false accusations their BALLS should be squizzed and they should be castrated until they cannot produce anymore good for nothing PCM crooks.