Chan Kong Choy and Ling
Liong Sik must explain their roles in the scandalous RM1 billion
Westport land deal
Media Statement
by Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew
(Kuala Lumpur,
Monday):
Following my police report made on Sunday in
Petaling Jaya to initiate an investigation on Port Klang Authority Chairman
Datuk Yap Pian Hon and both the current and former Transport Ministers, many
have asked me about the real market value of the said 1,000 acres which cost
PKA a hefty RM1 billion.This means that PKA paid RM1 million per acre for
the said land.
To
answer such question, one must bear in mind that this piece of land is near
the Westport, which is basically not a busy commercial area bustling with
activities by any standard. Some of the people I know in the property
industry told me that the current market value of the land here should not
be priced more than RM14 psf. But the PKA scandalously paid no less than
RM25 psf! That means the PKA had paid a price that was 44% higher than the
market value, which works out to be a hefty RM 440 million!
One
expert claims that if the PKA really needs such a piece of land for
development, it can even reclaim from the sea and probably cost much lower
with the availability of modern day technology.
When
the PKA Chairman Yap Pian Hon was asked by one journalist after the DAP
press conference on last Saturday, he claims that he knows nothing about the
deal, which was done 2 to 3 years ago, and that the piece of land would be
turned into a ‘comprehensive’ commercial project. He did not disclose any
details except for saying that the Transport Minister Datuk Chan Kong Choy
will make an announcement on the plan ‘some time in the near future.’
If
Yap’s story could be trusted, then both the current and former Transport
Ministers must come forward with a good explanation for transparency and
accountability of people’s funds.
Yap
also failed to explain why PKA went into business beyond its statutory role
(giving out loans to private companies) and yet to collect the overdue
payment.
We now
hope the police would act fast on the matter to protect the interest of the
people, besides bring those who were responsible for the scandalous deal to
book.
(20/12/2004)
* Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew, DAP international
Secretary and NGO bureau chief
|
http://dapmalaysia.org