(Nov 19): Every household in Perak stood to gain up to RM300,000 in a period of 10 to 15 years, had state land parcels been properly managed and developed, said Perak opposition whip Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham.

After being suspended by the Speaker from the state assembly sitting today, the DAP Sitiawan assemblyman told reporters that he was attempting to highlight losses incurred by Perak since Barisan Nasional (BN) took over in 2009, through more than 45,000 hectares of land awards.

“Up until April 2013, the state government had given out 112,546.7 acres (45,546 hectares), a size akin to the length of Alor Star until Kuala Lumpur, if the width is set at 1km.

“However, based on the state's income, our calculations showed that the premium collected from these parcels amounted to less than RM500 million.

“This is equivalent to the land being sold at a mere 10 sen per square feet.

He said Perak stood to earn up to RM150 billion if the land value was RM30 per square feet, following the standard set by Penang state government.

“By generating this kind of wealth, the state can afford to pass on the benefits to Perakians by abolishing certain taxes.”

He said BN assemblymen were constantly interrupting his speech in the assembly earlier, to prevent him from exposing the weaknesses of their administration.

He said under the current practice, some of the land awards had been approved for those with government connection at a cheap price, which was a loss to the state.

“This is what I meant by 'missing' funds for the state.”

Ngeh said the Perak state government should be more transparent by following Penang's example in issuing open tender auctions for state land, as well as in generating higher revenue.

Perak DAP chairman and Kepayang assemblyman, Nga Kor Ming, added that under Pakatan Rakyat's rule in the state previously, 13 parcels of commercial land were earmarked for open tender auction as a method to boost the state's revenue.

"We were, however, replaced in the 2009 constitutional crisis and did not get a chance to implement."

Earlier today, Ngeh was barred from continuing today's state assembly sitting, after he allegedly insulted Speaker Datuk Seri S.K. Devamany.

Prior to that, Ngeh got involved in a shouting match with several BN assemblymen, who were unhappy with his choice of the word, "stealing", in reference to the land awards.

Ngeh then apologised and retracted the word and replaced it with "missing". – The Malaysian Insider