56-year-old Sugayindran Vellasamy whose house was flattened by the land developer this morning is crying foul that the acquisition of his land was a fishy deal.
The last wooden house owner at Kg Haji Abdullah Hukum, opposite the glittering Midvalley City claimed that he has never sold any of his four-acre land.
“The land is an heirloom to the family where we built a house and a family temple.”
“In 1995, I was told a man by the name of B. Doshi has bought an acre of my land, although I did not sell any,”
“Then the land was subsequently sold to Ambleside Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of SP Setia Sdn Bhd under the name of KL Eco City Project,”
“But now Ambleside claimed that they own all four acres of my land,” said Vellasamy at the demolition site with Pantai MP, Nurul Izzah Anwar today.
He questioned Ambleside on how the company has gotten the four acres of land.
Rightful owner of the land
Until now, the retiree still holds a 1964 administration letter stated that the family was entitled to postpone the land’s duty payment, which indirectly recognizes their ownership of the land.
However, the document was a futile weapon when it came to the High Court, which in July 22 declared the land property of Ambleside.
“How can Ambleside be the rightful owner of my land since I never sold it and Doshi only bought one acre of it?” Vellasamy (right) questioned.
He claimed he did not receive a single cent of compensation, except being offered a low-cost PPR flat unit by DBKL.
“But my pension is only RM160 a month, I can’t even afford the rental that costs around RM200,” he said.
He added that he will continue to fight through legal means to reclaim his right.
“KLEC raises suspicion”
Vellasamy’s village was a 200-year-old settlement which was earmarked for development in 2007. It is told that under the KL Eco City project, two blocks of 17-floor condominium, office blocks and shopping complex will be erected on the land.
The developer, KL Eco City Sdn Bhd (KLEC), is a joint-venture company between SP Setia, which holds 60 percent stake, and Pemuda Umno-backed Yayasan Gerakbakti Kebangsaan (YGK), which holds the remaining 40.
DBKL is also KLEC’s partner, raking in 20 percent of its profit.
However, it was reported that SP Setia is gearing up to acquire the 40 percent stake of YGK for RM75mil.
Talking to media today, Nurul Izzah noted the lack of transparency involving acquisition and selling of land in the village.
“Why SP Setia only wants to acquire YGK’s stake by now although the project was sealed in 2000?”
“How did KLEC managed to obtain a 25-acre prime land on 80:20 profit-sharing basis with DBKL? Was it through open tender or some other ways? What were the criteria?”
“If YGK manages to sell its shares, how will the company utilizes the RM75 million? How is it going to benefit the villagers?” she asked.
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Jimmy Tan
