The Star - Thursday April 3, 2008

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Government has opened investigations into allegations of massive land cheating cases said to run into hundreds of millions of ringgit in the state.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim will personally go through records of all land transactions “tainted” by allegations of fraud.

He will discuss the matter during a special meeting with all nine district officers in the state today.

“We will look at all the records of cases where there have been complaints to ascertain if proper procedures were followed,” he said in an interview with The Star.

One case he would look into was in Kapar, Klang, where a group claimed that the land they had occupied for decades under Temporary Occupancy Licences was awarded to several other parties although they had been willing to buy it.

The group claimed that they were given TOLs for plots of land which they used for farming, business and even their homes but the District Office “had suddenly refused to accept payments to renew the TOL a few years ago”.

The group later found out that the land had been awarded to others, including some people from outside the state, despite their applying for permanent land titles several times without success.

Khalid said his discussion with the district officers would include claims by certain parties over the ownership of a plot of land in Sabak Bernam, where the change of ownership was discovered after the death of the owner.

The family claimed that they were never informed of any change in ownership and only found out after they carried out a search at the local land office.

The Star -Thursday April 3, 2008

Selangor govt says move by Tourism Minister foolhardy

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Government strongly feels that Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said’s decision to terminate all tourism memorandum of understanding with Opposition-ruled states as foolhardy.Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment state chairman Elizabeth Wong said such a decision is reckless for the Federal Government especially to sideline Selangor, which is the gateway into the country and a premier destination.On Wednesday, Azalina had said that the decision was due to the change in leadership in the state governments that was in line with the termination of the Tourism Action Council in the states.Wong said Selangor is one of the top destinations in the nation’s first stop for most international tourist and to sideline other states like Penang, Perak, Kelantan and Kedah is not wise.“Initially, we had been looking forward to working with the Tourism Ministry for the betterment of the industry and the country. Selangor accounts for some 30% of the national Gross Domestic Product and this callous move might have adverse impact on our national economy as well as the industry,” she said.She added that one should not cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face.

“For us in Selangor we will persevere in supporting the tourism industry and this in fact gives us a better opportunity to work even more closely with the private sector. We are committed to improve and to develop the tourism sector in the state in several new initiatives in eco-tourism and heritage tourism,” she said.

Wong also called upon Selangorians to visit the state’s historical attractions and push forward the industry with a greater zeal in the light of this development.