Condominium sits on Umno’s ‘welfare’ land

DAP shows proof that the cheap land sale to alleged BN patrons were for profits and not welfare purposes.

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PETALING JAYA: DAP today showed proof that one of the 24 plots of public land sold to alleged cronies of the ruling coalition has been used for commercial instead of welfare purposes as claimed.

Party national publicity chief Tony Pua said the land, worth RM200 per square feet was sold at RM1. A medium cost condominium had been built on it when Barisan Nasional leaders, in justifying the cheap price, claimed that community centres would be built there.

Documents obtained showed that the two-acre land was worth RM17.5 million but allegedly sold at a meagre RM87,000 to Selangor Umno before Pakatan Rakyat took over the state in the 2008 elections.

“When they (BN) rebutted, they said the land parcels were for building kindergartens and community halls and other services for the people. This is clearly not the case,” Pua told reporters.

Pua, who is also the party’s No 2 in Selangor, added that a unit of the Suria Damansara condominium cost RM450,000.

The controversy was first raised by DAP Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim last month. He claimed that the lands were divided among BN’s component parties. MCA holds five plots, MIC three and Gerakan one.

Umno Kuang assemblyman Abdul Shukor Idrus later defended the land takeover, which he claimed was used to build public amenities such as halls and kindergartens.

“Umno is the people, and it represents 400,000 Selangorians who paid their taxes… This is not for individuals but for a large organisation.

“Why can’t Umno use funds to build public halls for the community?” he had asked.

Of the 24 plots, 15 were now owned by Umno branches or divisions, with six of them going to Umno Sungai Besar division, which was led by former menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo.

Former MIC president S Samy Vellu together with someone named S Subramaniam and the late SOK Ubaidullah, who was one of MIC’s founders, were named as trustees for a 2,832 square metre plot in Kuala Selangor.

The biggest plot on the list was a seven-acre piece of land in Klang, owned by the Kota Raja Umno division, followed by a 6.5-acre plot in Batu 14, Puchong, owned by the Puchong Umno division.

“They took the lands for self-serving interest,” said Ng during the same press conference.

“Where is the transformation that they are talking about?” he asked, referring to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s reform pledges.