Daim to meet MACC today over transactions of 91 parcels of land in KL
He claims that ex-FT minister had given away 91 parcels of land
TUN Daim Zainuddin will meet the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) today over a graft case involving the sale of 91 parcels of land here.
“I am not sure why they want to see (me),” he said after a question-and-answer session with Kampung Baru residents at the Sultan Sulaiman Club yesterday.
Present was Rural Development Minister Rina Harun.
Daim was commenting on a matter raised by a Kampung Baru resident, in which the person had claimed that the previous minister in charge of the territory had provided land for his cronies through questionable means.
Daim, who is Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) chairman, alleged that the former minister had given away 91 parcels of land.
“The government had completed the investigations (into the transactions) and had sent (the findings) to MACC.
“Tomorrow, I will meet MACC. They want to talk about whether the land should be seized. There are those (some recipients) who are willing to return the land.”
The former finance minister said he and MACC would discuss whether any offence was committed in the course of the transactions.
“If there were, action needs to be taken. Some of the parcels of land were given (through) City Hall and the land offices.”
He said the largest parcel of land was in Bandar Malaysia.
Daim said he had offered a piece of land he owned at the Tun Razak Exchange to Petronas, so that a heritage zone could be created.
“But they did not want it. Later, they took the land and gave it to 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd). It would be nice if they turn the land (which was initially earmarked as an airbase) into a recreational park.”
On May 16, Kepong member of parliament Lim Lip Eng lodged a report with MACC to urge them to investigate 64 parcels of land sold by City Hall under the purview of former federal territories minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor from 2013 to 2018.
Lim had said the 64 parcels of land had a combined area of about 172ha and a total value of RM4.28 billion.
He had claimed that half of the land were sold for Federal Territories Affordable Housing (RUMAWIP) development and the rest were for upmarket residential and commercial products.
Lim had claimed that the land were sold without going through the open tender system and most of them were sold at below the market price without a valuation report.
Daim took City Hall to task for its alleged failure to fulfil its responsibilities, especially with regards to helping the Malay community.
He said City Hall had failed to help Malays even though it was led by Malays.
The City Hall, he said, “was only interested in looking after their own interests”.
“All City Hall officers are rich. They don’t prioritise Malays, they prioritise themselves.
“CEP has summoned them, including the mayor, for clarification. God willing, we will throw them out (problematic officers), but we need your support.
“We don’t want Malays to be left wanting. We don’t want this type of people. They are traitors to the race. We want honest, sincere and trustworthy people.”
Daim said the people of Kampung Baru needed to meet and discuss about the direction of the development they sought and present it to the government.
He agreed that the area should be maintained as a Malay reserve area in the city.
He said residents should not allow Kampung Baru to meet the same fate as the Malay villages in Abdullah Hukum and Tanjong Tokong in Penang.
“During the recent Bumiputera National Economic Congress, did any of the Kampung Baru folk go? You should have gone and raised the issue (on Kampung Baru) because the prime minister was there.
“The people of Kampung Baru also didn’t come to meet CEP. Chinese and Indians came, but Malays didn’t because they thought the government would take care of them.
“Did the previous government do that? They only took care of their own pockets.”