It is curious that two PKR MPs have raised questions over 68.4ha of land allotted to the controversial Jakel group (yes, the one embroiled over the temple land in Kuala Lumpur) by Selangor, asking the state to buy back the land.
It is more curious still that state Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, a PKR leader, has not replied to repeated requests for answers to questions raised over the allocation and its chronology, which leads to suspicion rather than confidence.
The two MPs, Subang’s Wong Chen and Petaling Jaya’s Lee Chean Chung, urged the Selangor government to buy back the land it had previously sold to a private entity near the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in Kinrara, Puchong.
According to searches they made, the private entity is Perano Properties Development Sdn Bhd, which is listed in Jakel’s corporate brochure as a company within its property development division.
Jakel, which started as a textile trading company, is now a diversified group with substantial property and other interests.
It is embroiled in a dispute over a piece of land in Kuala Lumpur, where a Hindu temple is present.
On Jan 15, it asked the temple to be vacated, with a RM1 million payment if done in time.
Back to the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve issue, in their joint statement, Wong and Lee said that on Dec 16, the Subang Parliament office issued a letter to Amirudin for the chronological history and transactions over 68.4ha of land near the forest reserve, which is part of the Subang Parliament constituency.
It issued a reminder letter on Jan 6, but there was no reply.
Under-pricing state land
On the transactions, they identified about 56.3ha of land out of the reported 68.4ha. The identified transactions are the following: Lots PT 53649, 53654, 53660, 53916, 53917, 53924, and 83355.
The transactions for the first six lots totalling 0.3ha, occurred on Sept 21, 2012. The purchaser was Perano Properties.
These lands were sold then by the Selangor state secretary, at a total selling price of RM468,824.00, equivalent to RM13.80 per square foot.
“As for Lot PT 83355, measuring 56ha, the transaction occurred on Aug 5, 2019, almost seven years after the first sale, also to Perano Properties but the vendor was the Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated), at a selling price of RM83,174,102.00, which is equivalent to RM13.80 per square foot,” Wong said.
However, the duo did not ask this question - why was a piece of land sold seven years later still priced at RM13.80 per square foot?
Surely, land prices would have risen a lot, even if we account for the fact that the last sale was much larger at over 55.8ha compared to 0.3ha for the first five lots.
My own checks show that iProperty, a property website, listed that an acre of leasehold land in the Ayer Hitam area was sold for RM3.2 million in September 2022, giving a price of RM73 per square foot, over five times the RM13.80.
The larger tranche was being allocated at below market prices. The first deal done in 2012 may have been alright because it was done years back, at RM13.80 per sq ft for 0.3ha or a total price of just under RM470,000. The menteri besar then was the late Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
The transaction of concern was the second one in 2019, where the price paid was some RM83 million for 56ha, at the same price of RM13.80 per sq ft, seven years later.
There cannot be a justification for that. Amirudin was serving as menteri besar at the time.
Buyback will be good
The MPs said they were unable to find details over the remaining nearly 12.1ha, although they are guessing it is at the same price.
They are suggesting that the state repurchase all the 68.4ha at the original price plus an eight percent compounded rate of return. This would amount to around RM193 million, they added.
That would be a good arrangement to recover the money lost from the under-pricing of the land, provided it is possible to persuade the buyers to part with the land at that price.
The question remains, however, of how the latest allocation in 2019 was made. How could the price seven years earlier in 2012 be the basis of a transaction seven years later?
This smacks of bad practice at best or corruption at worst, and deserves to be fully investigated.
But will it, like other incidents which require explanation and investigation, just fall by the wayside under this Madani government? - Mkini
P GUNASEGARAM says too many have become wealthy through unhealthy land transactions.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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