DEAR O DEAR YOU HAVE BEEN VERY PATIENT

For donkey years we in the opposition and now the government of Pakatan Rakyat of five states have been harping about illegal and hanky panky land deals performed by the BN government especially in Selangor. Sad to say, the public had been perceiving the information as "concocted and creative stories" by the opposition. Now you can see that BN government has been plundering the land, even stealing the land belonging to the dead. If only they can rise to tell their stories.....
*Stealing from the dead
*How burial plots became condo units





Stealing from the dead
by R. Nadeswaran and Terence Fernandez
sun2surf

PETALING JAYA: First they pinched land from the poor. Then they pilfered playgrounds from children. Now, they are even stealing from the dead! One administration handed over land acquired for a cemetery to a private developer. The succeeding administration destroyed a forest reserve to replace the stolen land.

What was meant for a cemetery bordering Bandar Utama had been handed over by the Tan Sri Abu Hassan Omar-led Selangor government to developers. Subsequently, the Datuk Seri Mohammad Khir Toyo-led government decreed that there is no land left for graves and de-gazetted the forest reserve in Kota Damansara to compensate the blunder made by its predecessors. But both never believed that two wrongs don’t make a right.

Not only has the illegal alienation of the cemetery land robbed original land owner – Damansara Jaya Bhd – of its legal rights to develop the land, it has also resulted in residents of Bandar Utama and its surrounding areas being deprived of a burial ground.

However, of grave concern is that because the original burial land was “sold” to developers by the previous state government, part of the Sungai Buloh Forest Reserve was de-gazetted as an alternative site for the cemetery plot.

According to official records, during Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib’s stewardship of Selangor in 1986, the state government had acquired 17ha from Damansara Jaya Bhd for the purpose of a cemetery for Muslims, Christians and Bahais at a cost of RM3.25 million or about RM17 per sq ft – far below market rates.

Subsequently, under Abu Hassan’s administration, about 16ha was alienated to Nayaka (M) Sdn Bhd which subsequently entered into a joint venture with Cekap Corporation Bhd, a subsidiary of the Metro Kajang Group to develop a commercial and housing complex – Pelangi Damansara.

According to the acquisition notice filed under the Land Acquisition Act, Damansara Jaya Bhd which was developing Bandar Utama at that time, was compelled to surrender that parcel of land and was to have been paid RM3.25 million – a sum which is now in dispute.

(This is the same developer who had later surrendered land for a balai raya, schools, food court, telecommunications exchange and fire station to the state government under the Abu Hassan administration which – as theSun had reported over the past fortnight – had instead been sold to businessmen, a Penghulu Kampung, as well as the MIC and Gerakan.)

However, instead of honouring the purposes for which the land was surrendered, the state government sold it to Metro Kajang Sdn Bhd for a massive commercial-cum residential project worth RM450 million.

How burial plots became condo units
by R. Nadeswaran and Terence Fernandez
sun2surf
PETALING JAYA : The saga of the cemetery land started way back in 1986 when Bandar Utama was being developed. The rubber and oil palm trees of Ephingham Estate belonging to the See Hoy Chan Group were being cut down to make way for a new township. The master plan was being prepared and requirements for public amenities were incorporated and approved.

However, someone forgot about a place for the dead. Thus, the state acquired part of the land measuring 17ha and offered a compensation of RM3.25 million.

Twelve years later, the dormant files began to move. Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ) councillors vividly remember the debates over the change of the land use.

After all, burial grounds, like other facilities meant for the public, came under the council’s purview. But those who pushed for status quo were outnumbered. The new plans to "bring development to the people" must be implemented, the majority said, and approved the project on Aug 25, 1999.

But four months earlier on April 1, 1999, the state government alienated the land to Nayaka (M) Sdn Bhd, a company with a paid-up capital of RM1 million.

Oddly enough, a Company’s Commission search revealed that Nayaka’s last statement of accounts was for the financial year ending Dec 31, 1998, which showed it was RM6,625 in debt.

Nayaka’s principal shareholders and directors were Muhammad Nadzri Baharom and Kamarudin Mohd Idrus, who gave their residences as Sungai Kantan, Kajang, and Taman Danau Kota, Setapak, respectively.

The state’s alienation fee was a princely sum of RM11.24 million – giving the Selangor government an immediate profit of RM7.99 million. (It paid Damansara Jaya RM3.25 million for the cemetery.)

That was not all. Another condition of sale was that the company would build 480 units of low-cost flats which would cost about RM20.16 million.

On Dec 28, 1999, Nayaka entered into a joint venture agreement with Cekap Corporation Bhd, a subsidiary of Metro Kajang Holdings Berhad, to develop the land.

These facts were contained in a circular dated June 27, 2000 to shareholders of Metro Kajang Holdings, to get their approval for the joint venture. It was noted that there would be 5,077 units of mixed development – housing and commercial units of which the 480 low-cost units comprise less than 10% of the project.

"Given the strategic location and affordable pricing, the project is expected to be very successful. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the project is expected to take eight to 10 years to complete and is expected to generate (at current price levels) a total sales volume of about RM510 million with a development cost of about RM450 million," the circular said.

"As at to date, earthwork is in progress on the land … there are some squatters on the smaller parcel of land … And the state government and Nayaka shall be jointly responsible for the relocation of the squatters."

According to the circular, the salient points of the joint venture were:

» Cekap will undertake the development at its own cost, including payment of land premium;

» Cekap will pay Nayaka a development premium of RM8 million;

» Cekap will pay Nayaka an entitlement 0.5% of the gross aggregate value of the project;

» Nayaka will execute an irrevocable Power of Attorney in favour of Cekap to do with all matters relating to the project and sale of the units;

» Cekap to provide a performance bond of RM1 million in favour of Nayaka for the construction 480 units of low-cost flats.

Metro Kajang argued that the rationale of the joint venture was "in line with the group’s policy of expanding its core business in property development to enhance earnings".

The circular, however, did not state how Nayaka came into possession of land which was acquired for a cemetery.