Ex-MIC leader lodges MACC report against Vell Paari over land deals
A MACC report had been lodged against MIC senator S Vell Paari over allegedly questionable land deals.
Former Sungai Siput MIC chief M Lokanathan said the cases are similar to the ones against former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng...
A MACC report had been lodged against MIC senator S Vell Paari over allegedly questionable land deals.
Former Sungai Siput MIC chief M Lokanathan said the cases are similar to the ones against former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng.
Lokanathan said the first case involves a piece of land where the Sungai Convention Centre is located now.
He said the land was originally owned by MIC-linked Koperasi Pekerja Jaya (KPJ) but was later sold to Vell Paari's family company for RM100,000 when it was actually worth more than RM2 million.
In the second case, he claimed that Vell Paari's father and former Sungai Siput MP S Samy Vellu bought 46.13ha of land at Ladang Dovenby owned by the National Land Finance Co-Op Society Limited (NLFCS), for RM11,280 per hectare.
Lokanathan said the market value at the time should have been RM68,000 per hectare.
"(It was bought) supposedly to build homes for Sungai Siput residents," he told reporters at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya today.
Lokanathan, who is a member of KPJ and NLFCS, said Vell Paari's family company was also allegedly involved in the sale of a bungalow below the market value.
He said the bungalow in Taman Pari, Ipoh, was valued at more than RM6 million but was sold for just RM750,000 to an individual.
The former MIC division leader claims to have all the documents to prove his claims and has submitted it to the MACC.
"If the MACC can take action against Lim for buying a house below the market value, then they must take action in this similar case," he added.
When contacted, Vell Paari denied the allegations.
"As far as Lokanathan is concerned, he has been claiming the same thing for the last 20 years. Obviously, everything is false. I've also grown tired of all this.
"I've handed the whole thing to my lawyers, and most probably we will be taking action on this matter. That's all I can say, as my lawyers have told me not to say anything more," he told Malaysiakini.
Lim was charged in 2016 with allegedly receiving gratification by purchasing a house from businessperson Phang Li Koon below the market value in 2015 when he was the Penang chief minister.
He was also charged with abusing his power as the Penang chief minister by re-zoning a plot of land that was eventually acquired by Magnificient Emblem Sdn Bhd, a company linked to Phang, who was charged with abetting Lim.
Both were granted an acquittal by the High Court in 2018.
Lim, however, is now on trial for allegedly using his position for the personal gratification of up to RM3.3 million in Penang and soliciting bribes in connection with a multi-billion Penang undersea tunnel project.
He has also been charged with wrongfully misappropriating land in Penang.
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