Guan Eng queries MACC over why no action was taken against Perda selling land 'below market price'

GEORGE TOWN: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has been asked why there was no action taken against the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) for selling land below market price.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (pix) posed the question after the Auditor General (AG) Report for 2015 cited the case in the annual report released on Monday.
He said the Finance Ministry's valuation for the land at Tok Keramat was over RM16.6 million but it was sold at RM1.42million.
Lim, who had exposed the sale in March this year, pointed out there was no open tender nor current market valuation for the sale as noted by the AG.
"The AG Report stated that the justification for the sale of land at a lower price was not supported by a technical report," he said in a statement today.
He added a MACC report has been lodged by Penang Health, Agriculture and Agro-based Industries, Rural and Regional Development Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin.
Lim also pointed out the AG report revealed another sale of 2.3ha of land in Sungai Baong below market valuation by Perda.
He called upon the authority to account for what happened and for the MACC to conduct a thorough investigation.
In the AG Report, Perda listed several reasons to sell the land in Tok Keramat below the market price including having no plans to develop the land there, unstable soil conditions, expiry of the planning permission with all risks borne by the buyer and proceeds going towards buying more land.
For the land in Sungai Baong, Perda also listed several reasons including the land was zoned for industrial use and only for furniture making it difficult for Perda to find a suitable buyer and that proceeds will go to buying more land.
The authority was established under the Lembaga Kemajuan Wilayah Pulau Pinang Act 1983 and functions to undertake economic social development, residential, agriculture, industrial and commercial development.