An MCA politician has been alleged to be involved in a 'land grab' controversy in the Ulu Yam new village in Ulu Selangor.

Former village head Tan Kim Peng who is also Ulu Selangor district councillor and special aide to Selangor Exco member Ch'ng Toh Eng has been registered as the new owner of a plot of land formerly belonging to an elderly lady.

"The lady, Lim Ba Lee, was shocked to learn that Tan who had previously offered assistance to obtain a title for her plot of land - given to her by the Selangor government many years ago - turned out to be the new owner of the plot," alleged DAP International Secretary and NGO bureau chief Ronnie Liu.

He also claimed alleged collusions between Tan and land officials in keeping the senior citizen and 14 other families who have been residing in the Ulu Yam new village in the dark over title allocations.

Tan, when contacted today, merely said "many people applied for the land, not just me". He declined further comment on Liu's allegations.

The affected villagers lodged a complaint in May to the land office and the state government after discovering that their names had been removed as registered owners of the land.

In a reply from the land office to the complainants, they were told that their plots had been given away to others from the village but were not told why and under what circumstances it was done.

Unethical act confirmed

Liu told malaysiakini that he discovered the discrepancies when he received a copy of a reply from the land office to the Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo on the matter.

"Tan's unethical act was confirmed by Tukiman Nail, the acting land administrator of Kuala Kubu Baru (nearby Ulu Yam) Land Office. He however did not disclose under what circumstances Tan and others were given the land titles," the DAP leader added.

Tukiman, when contacted, confirmed that the complaint was lodged and the reply given to Liu and the menteri besar contained details of the land titles.

He told malaysiakini that he was unaware of the background of the case as he was new in his post, but asserted that titles are often given out to deserving cases.

Liu also questioned how eight plots of land had "mysteriously changed hands right under the noses of land officials". He said he has reason to believe more plots of land in the district were 'grabbed' by village leaders aligned with the MCA.

"This must stop. We have urged the MCA leadership to look into such land scams before but to no avail. They must not condone such unethical and unlawful acts of their grassroots leaders. Why has Ch'ng chosen to keep mum over the wrongful act of his special aide?" he asked.

No compensation

Liu added that the affected villagers had lodged police reports and are considering legal action. He urged the menteri besar to resolve the matter quickly as tensions are running high in the village.

The villagers are said to be very unhappy being left in a lurch without compensation nor given an alternate plan.

"One family have had their land levelled by the new owner last Friday. The villagers are becoming increasingly agitated with the situation and there is a chance of violence breaking out in the village," Liu warned.

In April this year, a Datuk was found to have grabbed several plots of land belonging to families in Kapar, Selangor. The plots were returned to the original owners when the state government intervened.