There’s still quite a bit of unfinished business in this saga.
Why is it so important? First, land which is now said to be worth RM80-100 per sq ft was alienated to the Koperasi for RM10psf or RM3.2 million by the previous BN administration. Millions of ringgit that could have gone to the people of Penang were effectively handed over on a silver platter to the Koperasi-Nusmetro in exchange for peanuts. The big issue was, could the Pakatan state government stop the deal in its tracks?
Was the new state government in Penang aware of Kg Buah Pala during the crucial period from when they came into power on 8 March 2009 until the land transfer was effected on 27 March 2008? Let’s zoom in on this period.
March 2008
8 – Opposition parties sweep to power in Penang.
13 – Buah Pala villagers meet the new Penang Chief Minister.
14 – But the very next day, the state government accepts final payment of RM2,247,000* for the Buah Pala land, nearly a year after the last payment, and almost 10 months after the Land Office asked for payment.
15 – The villagers are tipped off that final payment has been received.
16 – The villagers alert their lawyer that final payment has been received.
17 (or thereabouts) – Their lawyer meets a top DAP leader.
21 – Villagers again meet the Penang Chief Minister again. They alert the state government that final payment was received. The villagers say they were informed that a panel of inquiry would be set up to look into such dubious deals. They are given assurances and they come away from both meetings feeling euphoric.
22 – Penang state government announces a special panel to investigate land scams comprising deputy chief minister I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, deputy CM II Dr P. Ramasamy and exco member Phee Boon Poh.
27 – The Land office registers the transfer of Buah Pala land to the Koperasi giving them a temporary title, which prohibits transactions with third parties.* First payment of RM642,000 made on 16 March 2006, second payment of RM321,000 on 22 March 2007
The state government says by the time it took over, it was a done deal and it couldn’t do much. Really?
It is obvious the state government was aware of the deal. Did it try to delay the final land transfer? After all, the issue of compensation to the villagers had not been settled and the Koperasi had received a RM3 million discount mainly for this purpose. Moreover, two high-level state investigative panels – one last March to probe land scams in general and the second one this year to probe the Buah Pala case – were set up to probe the deal. What are the outcomes of those investigations? Had the investigative committees done their work, they might have found out that the land was not the Penang state government’s to sell, as the High Court had indicated. In which case, could the deal have been aborted – before the transfer of ownership was registered with the Land Office – on the grounds that the BN administration’s decision was null and void?
And did the last payment (on 14 March 2008) require exco approval – as some have claimed – as it was received so late? A full disclosure of the Pakatan state government’s exco minutes would help to clarify some of these lingering questions. In the interests of transparency, that’s the very least the administration could do.
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