The dust on investigations against the political secretary of Tourism Minister Azalina Othman Said has yet to settle and rumours are already circulating about the involvement of another political secretary of a former MCA minister.

The rumour mill went into full gear yesterday when a member of a well known watch group was seen leaving the Malaysian Anti-Corrupiton Commission (MACC) building in Putrajaya in the afternoon. It is widely believed that the complainant had made a report based on certain documents she had received concerning the former minister.

However, when contacted, she refused to divulge the contents of the documents which was dropped off at MACC. The documents, which are widely available on the Internet ( http://mohlandscam.blogspot.com ), alleged a land scam surrounding the sale and purchase of a land which was subsequently earmarked for a polyclinic in Johor.

A check with the company documents reveals that one of the directors and shareholder of the special purpose vehicle may be the brother-in-law of the political secretary who is a datuk.

The company initially acquired a power of attorney after it signed a sale & purchase agreement from the original owners for a sum of more than RM8 million, as revealed from the documents which showed a redemption sum of approximately RM4.065 million to be paid to the chargee bank, and approximately RM3.048 million to be paid to the original owners with the usual upfront deposit. The said land was subsequently sold to the government for an astonishing sum of RM29 million.

The said company was alleged to have made an extraordinary gain of RM19 million from the sale & purchase transaction.

Linked to Health Ministry?

The report also alleged that the timing of the purchase of the land which happened in October 2005, and the date of the gazette of the land acquisition which took place in November 2005 was too close to be deemed coincidental.

It is believed that only persons with prior and proximate knowledge of the intended acquisition by the Health Ministry will reasonably form the intention to acquire the land. The land was initially restricted to “Tanah ini hendaklah digunakan untuk Sekolah Swasta” before the gazette.

This raises the question of why an investment holding company, not in the business of education, is interested to buy a land with such restriction.

What is more startling is that the report alleged that said company also authorized a possible family member of the political secretary, and who is not a director nor shareholder of the company to collect the cheque from the government on behalf of the company.

The report called for an investigation by MACC and to afford the opportunity for those alleged of wrongdoing to clear their names.