By P. Gunasegaram
It is curious that two PKR MPs have raised questions over 169 acres of land allotted to the controversial Jakel group (yes, the one embroiled over temple land in Kuala Lumpur) by the Selangor state, asking for Selangor to buy back the land.
It is more curious still that the state, whose menteri besar is PKR’s Amiruddin Shaari, has not replied to repeated requests for answers to questions raised over the allocation and its chronology, which leads to suspicion rather than confidence.
The two MPs, Subang’s Wong Chen and Petaling Jaya’s Lee Chean Chung urged the Selangor government to buy back the land it had previously sold to a private entity near the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in Kinrara, Puchong outside Kuala Lumpur.
Jakel company involved
That private entity, they say, according to searches they made, is to Perano Properties Development Sdn Bhd, which is listed in Jakel’s corporate brochure as a company within its property development division.
Jakel, which started as a textile trading company, is now a diversified group with substantial property and other interests. It is currently embroiled in a dispute over land for a Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur. On January 15, it asked the temple to be vacated, with a RM1 million payment if done in time.
In their joint statement, Wong and Lee said that on Dec 16, the Subang Parliament office issued a letter to the Menteri Besar of Selangor for chronological history and transactions over 169 acres of lands near the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in Kinrara, part of the Subang Parliament constituency. It issued a reminder letter on Jan 6 but there was no reply.
Underpricing state land
On the transactions, they identified about 139 acres of land out of the reported 169 acres. The identified transactions are the following: Lots PT 53649, 53654, 53660, 53916, 53917, 53924 and 83355.
The transactions for the first six lots totalling 0.78 acres, occurred on 21 September 2012. The purchaser was Perano Properties Development Sdn Bhd. These lands were sold then by the Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Selangor, at a total selling price of RM468,824.00, equivalent to RM13.80 per square foot.
“As for Lot PT 83355, measuring 138.35 acres, the transaction occurred on 5 August 2019, almost seven years after the first sale, also to Perano Properties Development Sdn Bhd but the vendor was the Menteri Besar Selangor (Pemerbadanan), at a selling price of RM83,174,102.00, which is equivalent to RM13.80 per square foot.”
Although the MP duo did not ask the question, why was a piece of land sold seven years later still at a price of RM13.80 per square foot? Surely land prices would have risen a lot, even if we account for the fact that the last sale was much larger at over 138 acres compared to 0.78 acres for the first five lots.
My own checks show that iProperty, a property website, listed that an acre of leasehold land in the Ayer Hitam area was sold for RM3.2 million in Sept 2022, giving a price of RM73 per sq ft., over five times the RM13.80.
The larger tranche was being allocated at below market prices. The first deal done in 2012, may have been alright because it was done in 2012 at RM13.80 per sq ft for 0.78 acres or a total price of just under RM470,000. The Menteri Besar then was the late Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
The transaction of concern was the second one in 2019 where the price paid was some RM83 million for 138.35 acres, at the same price of RM13.80 per sq ft, seven years later. There cannot be a justification for that. The Menteri Besar at the time was the current one, Amiruddin.
Buyback will be good
The duo said they were unable to find details over the remaining nearly 30 acres, although they are guessing it is at the same price. They are suggesting that the state repurchase all the 169 acres at the original price plus an eight per cent compounded rate of return. This would amount to around RM193 million, they said.
That would be a good arrangement to recover the money lost from underpricing of the land provided it is possible to persuade the buyers to part with the land at that price.
The question remains however of how the latest allocation in 2019 was made. How could the price seven years earlier in 2012 be the basis of a transaction seven years later? This smacks of bad practice at best and, well, corruption at worst and deserves to be fully investigated.
But will it, like other incidents which require explanation and investigation, just fall by the wayside under this Madani government?
P Gunasegaram says too many have become wealthy through unhealthy land transactions.
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