PETALING JAYA: The land MIC owns in Bandar Utama was bought for RM3 million before 2000 and the deal met all legal procedures, said party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
He said the then state administration of Datuk Seri Abu Hassan Omar (who was Selangor mentri besar from 1997 to August 2000) sold MIC the land for its building.
It was not meant for a Tamil school as there was already an allocation of land for one there, said Samy Vellu in response to a report in theSun that seven parcels allotted for public amenities by the developer of the upmarket housing estate had been sold to private hands, as well as the MIC and Gerakan.
He said he and three other MIC office-bearers were holding the land in trust for the party.
"If the present government wants to challenge me, I will fight them all the way," the former works minister thundered when told that the Land Office record shows that the MIC was holding the land in trust for him.
"You tell me. Once the state government gives someone a piece of land, and it is paid for can the state take it back? Of course not!" said Samy Vellu, adding that he also had no knowledge that the land’s status is now listed as "commercial".
"No! No! No! This is not true.
"The land was subdivided a long time ago for various needs, including a Malay (national) school," he said, adding in jest: "Yes, I stole the land. It is my grandfather’s land!"
On Aug 29, theSun reported that land meant for a surau, schools, a community hall, food courts and a fire station were surrendered instead to a used-car dealer, car showroom operators, the MIC and Gerakan.
Petaling Land Office records show that the MIC was given a 99-year lease on the 12,141 sq m (about 130,000 sq ft). It was one of seven parcels surrendered by Damansara Development Sdn Bhd to the state government to build public amenities.
It borders the SRJK (Tamil) Ephingham. It is learnt that the entire area exceeding 24,000 sq m had originally been set aside for the school
and other facilities. After the school was built, the then Selangor government alienated it to the MIC, which holds it "in trust" for Samy Vellu, the documents show.
Ownership of the land was registered on July 20, 2005 and quit rent is RM37,516.
The land has been re-zoned as commercial and there will be a hive of activities next to the school.
Real estate agents said that based on the recent sale of a parcel of land in neighbouring Mutiara Damansara, the conservative market value of the MIC land is about RM400 per sq ft. Thus, the whole parcel can fetch RM52 million, especially with all the infrastructure having been completed by the developer.
The matter is expected to be raised by Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman Elizabeth Wong at today’s state executive council meeting chaired by Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
R. Nadeswaran and Terence Fernandez
The Sun
03/09/08
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