SHAH ALAM: PKR man R. Sivarasa, who is embroiled in the Ijok land scandal, said it was the settlers who had appointed his firm, Daim & Gamany, to act for them.
The appointment had nothing to do with the PKR-led Selangor state government, said Sivarasa, who is also Subang MP, in a statement today.
Sivarasa said he had expected the propaganda campaign on the Ijok land issue to continue with statements made by Barisan Nasional (BN) strategic communications deputy director Datuk Eric See-To as well as Faekah Husin, the special assistant to former Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
"See-To now attempts to cast imputations on my law firm, Daim & Gamany. But as usual, when one tries to create propaganda, he gets his facts completely wrong.
"He assumes for his argument of so-called "conflict of interest” that the Selangor state government appointed my firm to act for the 980 settlers.
"This is false and mischievous. He has only to read my press statement issued last Friday (Feb 23) to know that it was the settlers who appointed my firm to act for them. The appointment has nothing to do with the state government.
"See-To should also meet and ask the settlers whether the state government had directed them to appoint my firm. I am happy to arrange that meeting for him to know the truth direct from them," said Sivarasa.
Sivarasa also slammed Faekah, whom he described as falsely suggesting that it had been decided that it was his firm would act “for the transaction”.
"If “the transaction” is the sale of the 2200 acres (890ha) land from the current owners to the white knight developer, both parties, seller and buyer, had their own lawyers. My firm only acted for the 980 settlers at their request to protect their interest.
"My firm’s responsibilities, included, receiving the amount of unpaid compensation due to the settlers and ensuring that each of the settlers received their due. That has been done.
"Our job was also to ensure that the settler’s entitlement to houses was protected through written agreements between each settler and the white knight developer. We have also done this," said Sivarasa.
Sivarasa said he would be getting legal advice on the allegations made against him.
Yesterday, Selangor Barisan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Noh Omar said an independent law firm should have been appointed to handle issues related to the compensation of Ijok land settlers and not one that has political links.
He said the law firm which handled the case was represented by Sivarasa and this had effectively made the negotiations for the compensation lop-sided, said Noh.