Sultan Ibrahim hands over land for RTS

JOHOR BAHRU: The Sultan of Johor has consented to handing over his land in Bukit Chagar to the government without any cost if the land is involved in the Rapid Transit System (RTS) project.

According to his confidential secretary, Datuk Jaba Mohd Noah, Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar had set the condition that the RTS project must be continued quickly, as he understood the sufferings of the people commuting to Singapore.

He said that Sultan Ibrahim was disappointed at a news report connecting the issue of an increase in the cost of the RTS project with a piece of land belonging to him in Bukit Chagar.

He said that, until to date, Sultan Ibrahim had never been informed that the land belonging to him would be involved in the RTS project.

“Nevertheless, Sultan Ibrahim had said, if it is indeed true that the land belonging to him in Bukit Chagar is involved for the RTS project, he is willing to hand over the land to the government without any cost.

“This is on the condition the RTS project must be continued quickly because Tuanku truly understands the sufferings of the people who are forced to commute to Singapore,” he said in the Sultan of Johor Facebook, yesterday.

Jaba said, as often stressed, the interest of the people and government were always the priority of the Sultan of Johor and every issue must be discussed consensually.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Friday said that the federal government would demand back its land in Bukit Chagar, Johor Bahru if it was true that its ownership had been given to the Sultan of Johor without going through the proper process.

The prime minister said the government had to buy back the land if it had been bought by any party as the land belonged to the government. Dr Mahathir was commenting to a news portal report which quoted a source claiming that the ownership of the land had been changed to that of the Sultan of Johor.

The report also claimed that the Johor Land and Mines Department found out about the change in ownership change on Jan 28.

The location in question is one of five tracts of land in Bukit Chagar which was given to Putrajaya by the state government in 2012 as part of a land swop agreement to build the Johor Bahru Customs, Immigration and Qurantine Complex.