Johor chamber wants RCI to probe land deals

JOHOR BARU: The Johor Malay Chamber of Commerce of Malaysia wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to be set up to examine questionable land deals in the state dating back to 2002.

Its president Datuk Dr Syed Ali Tawfik al-Attas (pic) claimed that losses from such land deals in Johor amounted to billions of ringgit.

Speaking at a press conference at the chamber’s headquarters in Larkin yesterday, he claimed in 1993, the then Johor government allocated a 24.28ha plot along Lido beach on a 99-year lease to the chamber to be developed.

He said the chamber spent millions of ringgit on development plans and set up a foundation, adding that these were approved by all the relevant state and Federal agencies.

However, Dr Syed Ali said another state administration confiscated the land belonging to the chambers in 2002 and sold it to foreign-owned companies, mainly from China.

He claimed that the state government then received an “insignificant sum” from the real value of the land.

Giving details, he said for a 16.18ha plot, the state government was only paid a premium of RM5.16 per sq ft, which he claimed was hardly 1% of the true value of the land sold.

Dr Syed Ali said the Pakatan Harapan state government should order an RCI into the land deals to investigate and recover what was owed to the country.

He also expressed the chamber’s full support to the new state government.

Efforts to contact the previous state administration were unsuccessful.

Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian, when contacted, advised the group to lodge a report with the relevant authorities.