At least two five-year-olds are among 81 youngsters who were allocated plots of land in a squatter resettlement area in Taman Selayang Mutiara, Selangor, in a land scam which began more than 20 years ago. -- PHOTO: THE STAR
PETALING JAYA - AT least two five-year-olds are among 81 youngsters who were allocated plots of land in a squatter resettlement area in Taman Selayang Mutiara, Selangor, in a land scam which began more than 20 years ago.
Hundreds of names of eligible original squatters in the Bukit Botak resettlement project, meanwhile, were deleted and replaced with those of people, some of whom are now only in their 20s.
Genuine applicants to get their titles
IN A special interview with a Star Probe Team, Mr Iskandar said the state government was aware that plots had been allocated to children, youths, grassroots politicians and outsiders.
Although the land approvals were granted to these people since 1985, he said the titles were only issued from 2007 onwards.
These landowners were born between 1978 and 1980 - meaning they would have been between just five and seven when they were assigned the lots in 1985.
Plots were also given to outsiders, including some not from Selangor, who are obviously not entitled or qualified to get the land. On top of that, plots were also given to grassroots politicians who were not squatters or even residing in the area.
The resettlement scheme started in 1985 when large tracts of land were pledged to the 1,634 original squatters. The names of 215 original squatters went missing from the land allocation list. Of the 1,634 lots, 270 in Kampung Bendahara were given to the squatters who eventually settled there in 1990.
The remaining lots were assigned to squatter families by the state government in 1995 but they are still waiting for their lots.
The saga, that has been ongoing for over two decades now, has seen five Mentris Besar taking charge of the state, including the current administration of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.
Tan Sri Ahmad Razali Ali was Mentri Besar in 1985, followed by Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib (1986-1997), Tan Sri Abu Hassan Omar (1997-2000) and Datuk Seri Khir Toyo (2000-2008).
A special committee formed under Selangor Housing, Building Management and Squatters Committee chairman Iskandar Abdul Samad revealed that 81 of the landowners were under 18 years old. Of that number, 37 were below 12 when they were assigned the plots.
As the state government investigates how these people were given approval to own land in the scheme since 1985, allegations are being made that the names of the genuine squatters are missing from the original list of people to be compensated with land. Some squatters claimed that 215 names of genuine settlers had been left out of the original list. -- THE STAR/ANN
