.JPG "Keranji assemblyman Chong Zhemin today questioned how Umno, MCA, Gerakan and PAS managed to acquire land from the state government over the past 10 years. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Farhan najib")
IPOH, Aug 9 — A Perak state assemblyman today questioned how Umno, MCA, Gerakan and PAS managed to acquire land from the state government for the past 10 years.
Keranji assemblyman Chong Zhemin said that 46 plots of land, with a total size of 5.4ha, was approved for all four political parties since 2008.
“Umno was allocated 27 plots of land with the total size of 2.8ha, MCA was given seven plots of land with the total size of 0.2ha and Gerakan 11 plots of land with the total size of 0.6ha.
“Surprisingly, PAS was also given a plot of land with the size of 1.6ha, surpassing the size of the land owned by MCA and Gerakan,” he told reporters.
Chong said he obtained the information via a written answer for his oral questions which was not answered in the state assembly yesterday, due to time constraints.
“How (did) these political parties acquire land from the state government and how much premium have they been paying for the past 10 years? And what was the land for?
“We understand that the lands might be approved in a proper manner based on the laws, but what is the rationale behind it,” he asked.
“Is it fair for a state government to allocate land for their political parties? I believe there is a conflict of interest here,” said Chong, who is also Perak DAP Economy Bureau chief.
Chong also questioned how PAS, who is not a component party from the previous ruling party, managed to get land while some component parties failed to get any.
However, Chong said he did not get detailed information on when the land purchases were sanctioned.
Chong said he had informed Mentri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu on this matter and said that such practice should not take place under a Pakatan Harapan administration.
