Report land deals to ACA, Lim told

GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should lodge a report with the police or Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) if he has evidence of any fraud and embezzlement on land deals, his predecessor Tan Sri Dr Dr Koh Tsu Koon said.

Dr Koh said from what he knew so far, there had been no fraud or embezzlement involving former state executive councillors over a land deal which Lim claimed could result in the state incurring losses of up to about RM40mil.

“By repeatedly playing up this case and quoting the sum, Lim has given the impression that the present state government agrees to the big quantum as claimed by the plaintiff.

“This would endanger the case initiated by the previous state government to substantially reduce the claimed quantum,” he said in a statement yesterday.

“Is Lim more interested in playing politics and trying to embarrass me and the previous state government than fighting the court case and saving money for the state government?” he asked.

Lim in his winding-up speech at the state assembly sitting on Monday had said the state could incur the losses due to negligence by the previous administration in approving a 4.3ha plot of land to be leased to an individual.

He said the land deal should not have taken place, as the plot was too big to be given to an individual.

Dr Koh explained that the plot was mistaken as state land and approved to be leased to an applicant for quarrying purposes.

He said the previous state government immediately took action to return the plot to the rightful owner and revoked the approval after which the applicant took the state government to court.

He added that the previous state government, which lost the case, did not agree to the quantum even after it was reduced by one quarter and decided to continue fighting the case in court.

Source: The Star 31.7.2008