Ijok settlers say their land issue resolved by Azmin

A group of settlers from Ijok today said that long-standing issues surrounding their land have been resolved by the present state administration under Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali.

They also urged unhappy parties to stop attempts to block the settlement agreement reached with a private developer involving compensation of RM180,000 cash and a house now valued at least RM500,000.

Group spokesperson Ali Bashah told a press conference at the state legislative assembly that a majority of the original settlers had signed the agreement facilitated by the state government under Azmin in 2015.

"In total, there are 863 settlers who have signed the agreement, from a total of 981 settlers," said Ali who said he had led a committee to engage with the state government since 2008, when the then Pakatan Rakyat federal opposition pact, first took over Selangor and appointed Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (IND-Port Klang) as the state menteri besar.

In 2014, Ali (photo) said Khalid had made the settlers a settlement offer which they rejected, as they had to pay RM70,000 for a house valued at RM250,000.

"We all agreed we did not want this settlement. We cannot afford to pay.

"We also did not want the issue to be taken to court as it would take a long time to resolve, most of us are already old," said Ali who was accompanied by about 12 other Ijok settlers, as well as Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad and Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Ali said the settlers then began to engage with Azmin who replaced Khalid as the menteri besar.

"Our only demand is for (the developer) to finish the unfinished houses and for the remainder of our compensation to be paid," he said.

The retired army veteran earlier said that the two parcels of land - Alam Mutiara and Alam Utama - were initially given to settlers who did not have any land of their own or have less than two acres of land each.

"Now the issue has been resolved, suddenly there are people busy trying to stop it (the settlement)," said Ali who lamented that they had waited close to 20 years and there were settlers who had passed away before the issue was resolved.

'White paper on Ijok scandal'

Separately, Sulaiman Abdul Razak (BN-Permatang) (photo) told reporters that settlers who remained unhappy with the deal as they have yet to receive the promised compensation could proceed to file an injunction in court.

He also challenged Azmin to present a white paper in the state assembly to discuss the Ijok land issue.

"There is still time for us to debate the issue tomorrow.

"If you are really transparent, then be prepared to accept our (BN assemblypersons) debate (challenge)," said Sulaiman.

"To me, there are settlers who agreed and disagreed. We cannot blame them," he added.

On March 14, Malay-daily Berita Harian reported that a group of 113 unhappy Ijok settlers had filed an injunction against Azmin and five other defendants, among others, to demand higher compensation to be paid based on the current value of their land.

BN had taken issue with the RM1.18 billion transaction, asking why the compensation was just a fraction of the land sale value, and why the matter was settled before undergoing a due legal process in the Federal Court.

The state-government in response, among others, had said the decision to settle out of court was reached as a win-win solution for all parties concerned. -Mkini