Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham has denied claims that the Kelantan government had given him land in exchange for support, saying the company had been acquired through the open market.

The land, said Ngeh in a statement today, was acquired through a purchase of the company awarded the 10,526 hectares of land by the state government, hence there was no element of corruption involved.

He added that the business deal was no secret as the DAP and state Pakatan leadership, as well as the federal government, had been informed of the purchase.

“I would like to reiterate that neither Nga Kor Ming nor I was given any land by the Kelantan government.

“The acquisition of Upayapadu Plantation Sdn Bhd together with other investors in April this year was a commercial transaction purchased in the open market,” said Ngeh.

Ngeh provided a step-by-step transition of who owned the land before he and Nga, assemblyperson for Pantai Remis and Taiping MP, eventually acquired it.

1. On Sept 13, 2000, the Kelantan government approved the land to Yayasan Islam Kelantan (YIK).

2. In December 2000, the land was approved to one company to develop but the company had failed. The land was taken back by YIK on Aug 18, 2004.

3. YIK awarded the land to Upayapadu Plantation to develop on Aug 28, 2005 and the agreement was signed on May 3, 2006.

4. Upayapadu Plantation was also not successful in developing the project and its shareholders decided to sell the company.

5. Ngeh, Nga and other investors bought the company in April 2012.

In an earlier statement issued by the press secretary of Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, it was revealed that Upayapadu Plantation was previously chaired by Wong Yeon Chai.

According to media reports in the 1990s, Wong was a timber tycoon in Pekan and known as “Tengku Wong” due to his close relationship with the Pahang royal family.

The late primary industries minister Lim Keng Yaik once accused Wong of “legally practising illegal logging”. 

Ngeh, who is also the assemblyperson for Setiawan and Bruas MP, said he had informed DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and Perak Pakatan about the matter several months ago.

The Island Revenue Department and Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Hamzah Zainuddin had also been informed regarding the acquisition, he said.

In a reply in Twitter on Saturday, Ngeh also claimed that there is no Orang Asli settlement on the land.

Ngeh and Nga were accused of receiving the 10, 526 hectares land from Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat in exchange for the appointment of  PAS’ Pasir Panjang asssemblyperson Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as Perak menteri besar in 2008.

Yesterday, DAP chairperson Karpal Singh said the party would seek the duo’s clarification over the allegations.

‘BN revenge for land exposes’

Ngeh said the allegations were “blatant lies” and an attempt by BN to divert attention from DAP’s exposes of the ruling party’s land scandals.

“The claim on Pisau.net is a blatant lie. Umno knows the truth about the said land but pro-BN media continue to cause confusion, and therefore I feel the need to issue this media statement.

“None of the BN elected representatives who raised the issue dared to repeat the allegation outside the state assembly, knowing very well that their allegation was false.

“The above-said issue was brought up by BN in order to divert the public’s attention from the scandals that Nga Kor Ming and I have exposed in the recent state assembly involving the Perak BN government approving to Umno/BN cronies state lands worth hundreds of millions ringgit,” said Ngeh.

The Perak DAP chief said he has instructed his lawyers to take legal action against those making the allegations for “defaming” the duo.