Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

(July 1): Amid reports that there are parties interested in 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) land in Air Itam, Penang, the DAP state government today said it knew nothing of the sort.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state had no information on the matter even though any sale or land purchase would have to go through state authorities.

Anyone buying land must remember that they also needed to obtain the state's approval, he said.

"I remind whoever that is buying the land. Remember that the state has never promised to give its approval.
"Don't forget that there are now some 3,000 families living on the land parcels in question. We will make sure their rights are protected," Lim told reporters at his office in Komtar today.

Lim's remarks follow a statement by 1MDB president Arul Kanda Kandasamy who said the Finance Ministry-owned investment firm had "received significant expressions of interest in its Air Itam and Pulau Indah land parcels".

Lim, who is the exco in charge of land, said the state had never received any applications concerning 1MDB land in Air Itam since 2013.

He said the state government had been keeping watch on the plot as the Federal government had made promised to build housing for the people on the land in the run-up to the 2013 general election.

"If 1MDB had bought land in that area, it was surely for certain reasons, which was to defeat me in the Air Putih state constituency.

"There were promises made. We want to make sure they are fulfilled," he added.

In a recent statement, 1MDB's Arul Kanda had said the firm intended to appoint an independent real estate consultant to assist in reviewing the various proposals and a further announcement on the progress would be made in two weeks.

The Edge reported that according to a land search in May on the five largest Air Itam plots, 1MDB owns 85.7% of Gerak Indera Sdn Bhd, Farlim Properties Sdn Bhd and 1MDB RE (Ayer Itam) Sdn Bhd with minority shareholders holding the balance.

There are now questions whether 1MDB had already worked out a settlement agreement with the ground tenants of the land in Air Itam, and whether a new buyer would enter a deal with the firm if the issue with the existing residents remained unsettled.

The Air Itam plots are occupied by houses and workshops with 1,200 to 1,400 dwellings that have water, electricity and postal addresses. – The Malaysian Insider

 

      Print
      Text Size
      Share