Evidence piling up over land grabs

KOTA KINABALU: The speed with which land has changed hands in Sabah over the last few decades has left many dizzy.

Allegations of land misappropriations are stacking up against Sabah's political warlords

Not a day passes without some new allegation of land grabs.  In many cases it involves the high and mighty.

Former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee has added his weight to the on-going debate for some sort of social justice and a review of what proponents call “development opportunities” and which critics say is nothing more than a land grab.

Since leaving the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government, Yong has made various allegations of impropriety against various senior State BN leaders including his predecessors and the abuse of power while in office.

He raked over the burning embers of these explosive claims again this week.

This time he focused on the allocations of parcels of prime seafront property as well as the Maliau Basin – which was nominated for Unesco World Heritage Site status – to private companies.

“The land now known as Sutera Harbour was applied for in 1993 and land title was issued in super speed the same year.

“The premium paid was about RM7 million. The same lands were then charged to a bank for more than 40 million US dollars.

“All these were done towards the closing days of the PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah) administration.

“Another piece of the sea, opposite the First Beach near Shangri La Tanjong Aru Resort, was approved to a KL company by the 1993 Chief Minister (Joseph Pairin Kitingan).

“Even the Maliau Basin, now a protected heritage site, was approved for coal mine exploration permit to an Australian company.

“All these were never known to the Cabinet at the time,” said Yong.

Powers vested in state cabinet

Yong explained that this was the reason he had acted to transfer such powers to the Cabinet so that future chief ministers of the state including himself would not able to abuse his powers over land, forests and mining.

The former chief minister who has been the subject of a series of attacks from government leaders as well as rivals in the opposition made the damaging allegations when criticising DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu, Hiew King Cheu, for saying that there is no guarantee that a future chief minister will not abuse his powers.

Yong, who is also president of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), pointed out that the guarantee that no chief minister can sign away huge tracts of lands, forests and mines to private interests was put  in place on June 17, 1996 when the Sabah Legislative Assembly passed amendments to the Sabah Land Ordinance, the Forest Enactment and the Mining Ordinance.

“I was the chief minister who moved the motion to amend the laws which was passed by the Legislative Assembly.

“This Chief Minister’s powers have since been transferred to the Cabinet,” he said.

Yong claimed that he acted in view of the massive abuse of powers by previous chief ministers such as the award of the 347 acres of seafront land to a company registered in the British Virgin Island which allowed secret shareholders.

‘PBS and DAP colluding’

He went on to note that another approval of land for joint venture before the June 17, 1996 amendments to the law was the so-called government quarters land at Second Beach and Third Beach in Tanjong Aru.

“This agreement was signed a few weeks before I became chief minister, in the closing days of the chief ministership of Salleh Tun Said (the current Speaker of the State Assembly).

“But PBS and DAP characters collude to defame me and tell lies that the project was approved by me.

“PBS and DAP want to protect Umno leaders and want to kill me politically. In return, both PBS and DAP have been rewarded,” he claimed.

Hiew has accused Yong of approving so-called seafront lands to a private company during his brief tenure as chief minister based on a recent court judgment against claims by developers of two proposed waterfront projects here.

“Any company may submit proposals and any person may sue.

“The fact that the government has won the case shows that the facts speak for themselves,” Yong said and advised Hiew to stop allowing himself to be used by the Umno to serve the BN’s interests.