BN men score prime land at RM2 psf

Ninety-nine plots of prime land in Subang Jaya, Selangor had been leased at very low prices in 2001 to individuals, which include five BN leaders, and were eventually turned for profit.
Subang Jaya state assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh, who dug through the transaction records, said cheap leases were usually reserved for building facilities for the community. The land was mostly used for building bungalows instead.
She said that the plots were about 5,000 square feet each and were leased for around RM10,000, or about RM2 per square foot, but some lease went as high as RM19,000 or as low as about RM8,000. The current estimated price is about RM170 per square foot.
Of the plots located in USJ3B and USJ3D, five BN leaders were among the lease holders. However, they have since sold the lease, said Yeoh.
She explained that the cheap lease was normally reserved for amenities such as community halls and kindergartens.
“The land was not for (party) branches, not for public amenities, and not for the community. These are all private bungalows,” she said during a press conference today.

Approved by exco

She said that records show that the state exco approved of the discounted land sale back in 2001.
Although Yeoh could not provide the market valuation for the land at the time, she said it was believed to be well above RM2 per square foot.
Also present at the press conference were Seri Setia assemblyperson Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Sekinchan assemblyperson Ng Suee Lim and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo.
Since November, Ng has been revealing details of alleged land grab by BN between 2000 and 2008 involving 33.5 acres across Selangor's nine districts.
Yeoh said Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim has stopped the practice of awarding land to politicians since Pakatan Rakyat took power in the state. 

She also urged Selangor BN to explain the issue as it goes on the campaign trail for the coming elections, while the electorate should press them for answers. 

“If the people of Selangor want to return the state to BN, you will see more of such things, where state land is given dirt cheap to their politicians, and you can become a millionaire overnight,” she said. 

'That was a long time ago'
Among those implicated is former Subang Jaya City Council councillor Yap Yun Fatt, who declined to comment.

“That was a long time ago. I have nothing to say... I’m just a pickle only, so I don’t know, go check with other sources.

“I have nothing to say, just state it as it is,” he said when contacted.
Meanwhile, Umno disciplinary committee chief and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission advisory board member Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas (right) denied any wrongdoing.

“I don’t know. I mean I paid what was asked of me by the government then. I don’t think it is something illegal,” he said when contacted.

He said he was first told about the land- then an agricultural land - by his friends in the Land Office and decided to purchase it.

He then sold the still-empty plot some years later, but could not recall how much did he made out of the deal.

“But I didn’t make a huge sum of money, that’s for sure. Not millions, it was only a 5,000 square foot lot,” he said.

He also questioned why no issue was raised when Chinese new villagers and Felda settlers also obtained state land for almost free and later sold it for high prices.

“This is so ridiculous, why are you so obsessed with what happened in the past? You should be focusing on the future,” he quipped.
Malaysiakini is withholding the names of the five BN leaders implicated in the alleged land-grab - three from MCA and two from Umno - pending their comment on the allegations. 

Meanwhile, Yeoh is refusing to disclose the names of the remaining 93 persons who had leased the land because she could not ascertain their identities. 
 
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