NOH: SETTLE IJOK LAND ISSUE
Don’t just wash hands of settlers’ woes, minister tells Selangor MB
SELANGOR Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali cannot just wash his hands off the controversy surrounding the Ijok land issue, Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said.
He said it was unacceptable for Azmin to leave it to developers to settle issues raised by settlers, including those involving compensation and housing.
“This is not only unacceptable, but also reflects badly on his leadership. However, that’s how he is... he likes to dismiss important matters. We can see many issues have surfaced after he ‘seized’ the state from (former menteri besar) Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.”
He said now that Khalid had raised the issue, Azmin had accused Khalid of plotting with Umno to topple him.
However, he said, Khalid knew what the real issue was, as the former MB was a corporate figure before venturing into politics.
Noh said this after officiating the SK Rantau Panjang Parent-Teacher Association meeting, here yesterday.
He questioned Azmin about the allegation that the land in Ijok had been sold to a third party determined by the previous developer and not the state government.
“I understand that the two developers that failed to develop the land were still given the authority to sell it.
“They were problematic developers, but the state government still trusts them.
“I see that the state government is making a lot of dubious decisions, like the development issue at the Paya Indah Wetlands site. The state government under Barisan Nasional did not approve the development project.
“When Khalid becamethe menteri besar, he, too, did not approve. However Azmin approved the project.”
It was reported that several Ijok settlers aired their dissatisfaction over the compensation (RM180,000 per settler) that was paid to them.
They claimed that the compensation was based on the value of the 880ha land in 2000, but the land was sold to the two companies according to the current market price.
They were also unhappy with the type and size of houses offered, which they claimed was not what the state government promised.
The landowners and settlers requested the state government’s intervention to ensure developers paid late penalty fees for the delay in building their homes.
The 880ha land was seized by the state government under Khalid after both developers reportedly did not meet certain conditions, including failing to pay the land premium, failing to change the land’s status from agricultural land to residential land and failing to pay the premium to change the land status.
However, the land was returned to the developers under Azmin’s administration, and Khalid urged the authorities to probe the decision.
He was reported to have said that such a move did not reflect well on Azmin’s administration with regards to upholding good business practices in managing the people’s assets.
Khalid, who is Port Klang assemblyman and an independent, said he had raised questions over the RM1.18 billion Ijok land deal at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting in November 2016.
He had revealed that when he was MB, certain quarters had tried to “make him an offer” to resolve the Ijok land issue while a court case involving the land was ongoing.