PETALING JAYA (June 4): Chairman of the Council of Eminent Persons Tun Daim Zainuddin said the local media plays an important role in ensuring land deals made by the government are carried out in a fair and transparent way, reported The Star.

He noted that mainstream media had been “timid and irrelevant” for too long under the previous government and has failed to protect the interest of the nation and the rakyat.

“By exposing such scandals, it will certainly provide a check and balance in the administration. The fourth estate is important. We must always keep an eye on any wrongdoing,” stressed the former finance minister.

A number of controversial land deals had surfaced in recent times involving government lands. For instance, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng had lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on May 16 to investigate 64 parcels of land, which have a combined area of 424.29 acres and a total transaction value of RM4.28 billion.

He said all 64 of them had been sold without open tender and most of them transacted at below market price at that time and without having gone through a valuation report.