TTF: A seventh person was arrested today (see news item below) in what is now being dubbed the “Ijok land scam deal.” The last we heard of such a deal was when Lim Guan Eng pre-sold RM2.83 billion worth of state land to facilitate a mega-project worth some RM15 billion or so.
And we’re not even talking about the 5.67 acres (worth RM208 million) of state land that the Chief Minister ‘donated’ to the Penang Undersea Tunnel Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The transfer of those acres came into question the minute it was revealed that the SPV failed to fulfil its obligations to the project’s main contractor. After waiting three years or so for the remaining 66 of the promised RM69 million, the contractor – CRCC – packed its bags and more or less told the SPV to fly kites.
Which brings us to the question – just who is conducting the tunnel project? Is the project still on, or is the SPV working towards appointing a new contractor? More importantly, did the state government not demand progress reports from the SPV before agreeing to ‘donate’ the 5.67 acres?
Speculation is rife that the ‘donations’ were to facilitate kickbacks for the Chief Minister and his men. The spate of arrests in Penang and news of a RM22 million bribe being paid by the SPV seems to suggest just that. People are now curious to know what prompted the SPV to pay such a hefty bribe just to get the MACC off its back.
Going by logic, anyone willing to fork out that kind of money would have had something terribly sinister to keep the guys in blue from discovering. The fact that Guan Eng was spotted together with a Dato’ Seri allegedly paid a lion’s share of the bribe sparked rumours that the Chief Minister latched some proxy companies and dummy corporations to the SPV to facilitate the flow of kickbacks.
But just who benefited from the kickbacks?
Was it the guys from the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce, or are we talking about the 34 consultancy firms whose roles in the SPV are yet to be determined? And why the need for that many consultants in the first place? Was it an excuse to affix the more-than-ridiculous RM304.9 million tag for “feasibility studies and design works,” the reports for which have yet to be completed?
The tunnel project is probably the biggest land scam deal there is in Malaysian history. Coming in a close second is the alleged bungalow-for-land scam deal the Chief Minister is currently facing trial for. And the more we look at it, the more it seems that Dato’ Seri Azmin Ali has followed in Guan Eng’s footsteps by cheating Ijok settlers of their money – specifically, some RM757 million worth of it.
Seriously, are all Pakatan Harapan Chief Ministers that hard up for money?
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PUTRAJAYA: A company director with the title “Datuk” is in remand for seven days from today to facilitate investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the sale of 880 hectares of land valued at RM1.18 billion in Ijok to several private developing companies.
The order, until March 28, was issued by Magistrate Ainna Sherina Saipolamin.
The 53-year-old director, who returned from abroad yesterday, is the seventh individual to be held in remand in connection with the case.
Yesterday, six individuals, aged between 34 and 84, including two men with the title “Datuk” were ordered to be in remand for four days to facilitate MACC’s investigation of the case.
Source: The Malay Mail Online
