Hulu Bernam ‘airport’ grounded

Yayasan Selangor has taken legal action to evict a private company which built an illegal airstrip on its land.

KUALA LUMPUR: A plot of land belonging to Yayasan Selangor, a state government company, has been converted into an illegal airstrip in Hulu Bernam.

The airstrip is located in a sprawling 217 acre land and the state-owned firm has initiated legal proceeding to evict a private company, which built the “airport”, on the land.

Last week, the state government’s select committee on Selangor government agencies, statutory bodies and state subsidiary companies (ABAS) made the decision to halt the operation of the airstrip dubbed “Bernam River Airfield”.

Khasim Abdul Aziz, who is Lembah Jaya state assemblyman, revealed that ABAS officials visited the site of the illegal “airport” in October and the decision to stop operation of the airstrip was made soon after that.

According to a statement issued by ABAS recently, the 217-acre plot was carved out of a 225-acre land belonging to Yayasan Selangor. The land title only allows it to be used for agricultural purposes only.

It was reported that the land was leased to the private firm – Aviation Development Co Ltd (ADC) – in 2006 but the company did not use the land for agriculture.

ABAS had also urged the state government to create a task force to review and examine the joint venture agreement, signed on Aug 15, 2007, between ADC and Yayasan Selangor.

Land status not changed

Yayasan Selangor general manager Ilham Marzuki, when contacted, said the state-owned company decided to close down the airstrip after it was discovered that ADC failed to meet the criteria stated in the agreement.

“ADC has yet to get approval of the local authority to change the status of the land from agricultural to commercial use,” he told FMT.

He said ADC had been given more than a year to obtain the approval. The firm, he claimed, had also failed to settle RM1.2million to Yayasan Selangor based on the agreement for the lease of the land.

“All these facts have been placed before the court,” he added.

He also said on May 31, 2010, the Hulu Selangor land office had issued a notice to Yayasan Selangor for wrongful use of the land.

“On Nov 2, 2011, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted an interlocutory mandatory injunction and ordered ADC to give back the land to Yayasan Selangor within two months from the date of the order and also to cease all activities related to the airfield,” he said.

Marzuki said Yayasan Selangor had never renegeded on agreements with its joint venture partner but it was the latter which did not follow the set guidelines and procedures.

“This is another tactic to tarnish Yayasan Selangor’s reputation,” he added.