Former Bersatu member Anina Saadudin has accused ex-Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir of abusing his powers to award his father Dr Mahathir Mohamad with a 60-year lease on a plot of land facing the Andaman Sea.

However, Mukhriz described this as “another lie”.

In a Facebook post, Anina said Mukhriz in his capacity as MB and Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) chief - a position he took up in 2013 succeeding Mahathir - awarded his father with the lease for the 34 acres of land or 1.5 million square feet.

"On Sept 11, 2014, Tun M (Mahathir) was awarded a 60-year lease for a plot of land facing the Andaman Sea at Mukim Ayer Hangat, through his company Cipta Selaras Sdn Bhd.

"The commercial plot meant for the building of hotels and to be a tourist attraction by the beach was paid for at an average rate of RM267 a month for 34 acres or equivalent to RM192,500 for 60 years," she added.

Anina said there was a conflict of interest as Mukhriz had awarded the land to his father on top of the land size being too big and the lease rate is too low at 12 sen per square feet.

She also pointed out that three days after Mahathir was awarded the land, caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak announced a plan to build 1,000 affordable homes in Langkawi under the PR1MA project.

"Tun M only paid 12 sen per month for every square foot of the 1.5 million square feet of prime beachfront property and made hundreds of billions of ringgit over 60 years through the Five-Star hotel projects.

"Datuk Seri Najib through the BN government meanwhile shouldered RM64 million in cost to build 1,000 affordable homes for 1,000 families in Langkawi who only needed to pay RM142 a month for 20 years in order to own a house for life," she said.

Therefore, the former Langkawi Wanita Umno member urged voters on the island to choose between a "billionaire who benefited from their land" or for more affordable homes.

In an immediate response, Mukhriz denied Anina's claim and stressed that her integrity had come into question in the public eye.

"I have the utmost confidence that her allegation will be viewed as yet another lie with a malicious intention ahead of polling day and for sure it was motivated by 'dedak' dished out by Najib or his henchmen who have become increasingly desperate," he added.

Mahathir is contesting the Langkawi parliament seat against the Umno incumbent Nawawi Ahmad and PAS' Zubir Ahmad.