Nizar: Former govt awarded state land to BN parties

At the Perak State Assembly

IPOH: Jun 27, 2008

The previous Barisan Nasional government awarded state land to Umno, the MCA and Gerakan, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said.

Land was approved for Umno in Teja, Kampar, and Kuala Kangsar, for MCA in Ipoh Barat and Kampar, and for Gerakan in Jalong.

However, Nizar stirred a hornet’s nest when he mentioned that land worth RM300,564 had been approved in 2005 for “Umno Larut Matang and Selama.”

This led to a heated protest led by Datuk Seri Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar (BN-Kubu Gajah), who insisted there was no such division in Umno.

Nizar was replying to Wong Kah Woh (DAP-Canning) who asked for a list of state land that had been approved for political parties since 2004.

Debating the motion of thanks on the royal address, Leong Mee Meng (DAP-Jalong) said she had received many complaints of abuse of power relating to land applications in her constituency.

She said a fish breeder who had been toiling on a 17.8ha plot of land had failed over the past 10 years to obtain a title.

“The piece of land was, instead, given to 22 people linked to Barisan,” she said, adding that each was given 0.8ha although they were not working on the land.

“What was worse was that they sold the land for RM30,000 each while the land premium charged was only RM400,” she said.

A piece of land used as a car park for parents sending their children to a kindergarten was given to Gerakan in 2005 to build its office, she said.