An Umno supreme council member from Selangor has raised questions over alleged conflict of interest in the 2015 settlement reached between Ijok settlers and two private developers that was facilitated by the incumbent Pakatan Harapan PKR-led state-government.

Incumbent Kuala Selangor MP Irmohizam Ibrahim (photo above) said this follows the reported arrests of two men suspected of receiving bribes pertaining to the Mutiara Alam and Alam Utama abandoned projects in Ijok.

In a statement, Irmohizam said the two men arrested were part of a 16-member settlers committee that as set up to replace an existing original committee, after the removal of former Selangor menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim in 2014.

“Without the knowledge and agreement of the original settlers committee and the settlers, this new committee of 16 members then appointed PKR MP R Sivarasa's law firm Daim & Gamany to represent the settlers.

“Serious questions are raised over possible conflict of interest over the appointment of this lawyer due to their fees being paid by the crony developers and his political links to the Selangor government,” said Irmohizam, who claimed that there were documents to show that Daim & Gamany's fees would be paid by the two developers.

“Due to this conflict of interest, many settlers are uncertain if they had received the best advise to protect their interests,” he claimed.

The two companies – LBCN Development Sdn Bhd and Mujur Zaman Sdn Bhd – were involved in a tussle over the 2,200-acre land with the previous Selangor administration under Khalid.

Two earlier court decisions, in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, had ruled for the Selangor government.

Following negotiations, the two companies and the current caretaker menteri besar Azmin Ali's administration agreed to drop all suits against each other in exchange for the state government keeping the land it had won in court and for the settlers to be compensated in full.

The Selangor Menteri Besar's Office had previously explained that each of the Ijok settlers would receive RM180,000 in cash, along with houses now worth at least RM400,000.

'No balloting on allocation of houses'

However, Irmohizam, claimed that there was no balloting done to ensure a transparent allocation of the houses.

“It is believed that each of the 16 members of the new committee had received corner lots, which is worth substantially more than the ordinary units given to other settlers,” he further claimed.

“There are now deep suspicions if the new settlers committee had colluded with the crony developers, the third party consulting firms and politicians from the PKR Selangor state government in an elaborate scam to cheat the settlers into accepting a payment that was obviously unfair,” said Irmohizam, who demanded an explanation from the state government.

When contacted, the strategic communications director at the Selangor Menteri Besar’s Office, Yin Shao Loong, expressed shock over Irmohizam’s latest accusations and described it as an attempt to slander the settlers.

“While the state has no legal standing to take action against Irmohizam for this slander, I am confident that the settlers can seek sound legal advice to protect their reputation from further injury and insult,” Yin told Malaysiakini.

On March 14, Malay daily Berita Harian reported that a group of 113 unhappy Ijok settlers had filed an injunction against Azmin and five other defendants, among others, to demand higher compensation to be paid, based on the current value of their land.

About two weeks later, another group of Ijok settlers held a press conference at the State Secretariat building and said that their long-standing issues have been resolved by the state government under Azmin.

BN had taken issue with the RM1.18 billion settlement, asking why the compensation was just a fraction of the land sale value, and why the matter was settled before undergoing a due legal process in the Federal Court.