Former Umno leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan will take legal action against Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who he said had defamed him over a disputed land issue in Ijok.

"I will discuss with my lawyer as soon as possible to file a defamation suit against this baseless slander by Rahman," Khairuddin said in a statement today.

He also confirmed that he would be taking legal action against former PKR leader Badrul Hisham Shaharin, better known as Cheguard, who had been "the first one" to defame him on this issue.

Yesterday, Rahman (photo) urged Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali to explain the handing back of an RM1.18 billion worth of disputed land in Ijok to two companies before the matter is heard in the Federal Court. 

The two companies are LBCN Development Sdn Bhd and Mujur Zaman Sdn Bhd. Khairuddin holds a high position in one of the companies.

Rahman had pointed out how both the High Court and the Court of Appeal have ruled that the land belonged to the Selangor government, which raised questions on why the disputed land was handed back to the two companies.

However, Khairuddin said today that the issue has nothing to do with Azmin.

"This issue (instead) has a direct connection with the then Selangor Umno leaders," he said, adding that Mujur Zaman had bought the land in the 1990s during Muhammad Muhammad Taib's time as menteri besar.

Khairuddin said he was not part of Mujur Zaman at the time and was only appointed to a position in the company in 2009, in light of his position as chairperson of Prime Utilities Bhd and Fountain View Bhd, of which Mujur Zaman is a subsidiary.

Khairuddin also insisted that the land does not belong to the Selangor state government and is private land which Mujur Zaman bought from settlers.

He explained that he was responsible for solving the abandoned housing project issue during his time as chairperson of Mujur Zaman, as well as solving the problem of outstanding land taxes.

"When all the problems related to the project were solved, I resigned as chairperson of both Prime Utilities and Fountain View in 2013.

"I was never even a shareholder of (Mujur Zaman), I was only appointed as chairperson of the company.

Khairuddin added that he would be furnishing more facts on the case when it is brought to court.

Settlement agreement filed at apex court

In 2008, when Pakatan Rakyat won Selangor, former Selangor menteri besar Khalid Abu Bakar, on behalf of the state government, took over ownership of the land from the two companies, citing violations of terms and conditions of their agreement with the Selangor government.

The two companies then sued the state government and Khalid to regain the land.

After the verdicts in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, in October 2013 and February 2014, respectively, the two companies then took the matter to the Federal Court. This was after Azmin took over the state leadership.

In September 2015, a deal was signed between the two companies and another private company to sell the land for RM1.88 billion, citing approval from the state government.

In May 2016, Azmin filed a settlement agreement at the apex court, saying that the Selangor government and the two companies had agreed to withdraw their case. The land was then handed to the two companies.

According to Selangorkini, Azmin had then instructed the state government to compensate the 980 settlers on the land with RM180,000 in cash, and houses worth RM250,000, each.

However, Rahman questioned where the remaining RM758.6 million from the sale of the land was.