MCA: State arm bought over-valued priced land

MCA leader Chua Tee Yong also alleges that Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Berhad's initial assessment found that the land has little development value due to its location.

HULU SELANGOR: MCA today alleged that the Selangor state government had instructed a state investment arm to purchase a land in Hulu Selangor at an over-valued price.

Taking reporters to the site located in Bandar Ulu Yam, Young Professionals Bureau chairman Chua Tee Yong claimed that Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Berhad (KHSB) bought the 400-acre land for RM18 million in 2010, on the instruction of the state government.

“In May 2010, KHSB had initially rejected the state’s plan to acquire the land. An evaluation done in July 2011 indicated that the whole land is worth only RM12.7 million.

“One year later, it was even devalued by RM5.3 million,” he alleged.

Since early this month, Chua made various allegations, saying that the Selangor state government had used nearly RM1 billion of public funds to save developer Talam Corporation (now Trinity Corporation).

Last week, the MCA leader accused the state government of forcing KHSB to purchase Talam’s assets worth RM44.7 million.

Chua, who is also agricultre and agro-based industries deputy minister, claimed that the land fell under the Category 3 (C3) and Category 4 (C4).

He said that the regulation to develop C3 land was stringent as the slope ranged from 25 degrees and above. Current state regulation only allowed national infrastructure projects to be done on C4 land.

“In 2009, the Pakatan Rakyat state government even froze all development projects on C3 and C4 category lands pending a new guideline. So how do they plan to develop this land?” he asked.

He added that KHSB itself found that 221 acres of the land was unfit to be developed and projects on the remainder land needed the approval from the state’s Sensitive Enviroment Technical Development Committee.

Chua urged Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to table a white paper on the issue to get to the bottom of the matter.

“Stop misleading the public and just tell us the truth,” he said.