Selangor govt faces flak

By MAZLINDA MAHMOOD AND ADRIAN LAI | news@nst.com.my

MULTIPLE issues: Questions over water supply, sand thefts, Unisel and payments to Talam

SHAH ALAM: BARISAN NASIONAL state assemblymen yesterday took the Selangor government to task over a number of contentious issues that they said were undermining public interests.

Speaking at the state legislative assembly, the elected representatives took swipes at the state’s refusal to budge on the issue of clean water supply and lack of foresight in charting the future of state-run Universiti Selangor (Unisel).

Another accused Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim of beating about the bush when replying to a question raised on the action that had been taken against sand thieves in the state.

A federal lawmaker also alleged at a press conference that the Selangor government had overpaid the debt-ridden Talam Corporation by at least RM28 million in another questionable land purchase deal.

In a heated session at the state assembly, Datuk Mohd Isa Abu Kassim (BN-Batang Kali) labelled the attitude of the Selangor government on the water issue as stubborn, and cautioned that the decision not to allow the Federal Government to build the Langat 2 treatment plant would stifle development in the state.

He asked whether the state administration was trying to sabotage the construction of the treatment plant using various excuses.

Sulaiman Abdul Razak (BN-Permatang) warned that Unisel was in danger of becoming a white elephant because of what he alleged as political interference and poor management.

He claimed that Unisel had become the last choice among students to pursue tertiary education and that the state government had done little to overcome the university’s problems of declining revenue and rising expenditure.

Wong Koon Mun (BN-Kuala Kubu Baru) ticked Khalid off for failing to give requested details on operations against sand-theft syndicates.

Wong said he had neither seen nor read of any action against those involved in sand thefts.

“If the state is that efficient, who knows the individuals or groups that have been arrested and what the punishment was?”

In Kuala Lumpur, Labis member of parliament and MCA Young Professionals Bureau chief Datuk Chua Tee Yong piled more pressure on the Selangor government in that it had overpaid Talam Corporation for a piece of land in Danau Putra, Selangor.

The land was allegedly one of the assets disposed of by Talam as part of a RM392 million debt settlement with the state government.

Last week, Chua challenged the Selangor government to explain what he described as “the RM1 billion deal” involving Talam. Chua, who is also deputy agriculture and agro-based industry minister, alleged that the deal between the Parti Keadilan Rakyat-led state government and the company was questionable as it had allegedly been brokered through dubious business transactions.

He alleged that Talam owed RM392 million to three statelinked companies. Instead of collecting the debt, the Selangor government purchased assets worth RM676 million from Talam.

Chua said that according to Talam’s annual report, the state government had purchased the assets between March 12 and April 9, 2010.

Additional reporting by V. Shuman and G. Surach

Selangor govt faces flak

MULTIPLE issues: Questions over water supply, sand thefts, Unisel and payments to Talam

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