Project exists but is not official yet

IPOH: A proposed RM180 million housing project in Seri Iskandar, at the centre of a graft probe, exists -- contrary to the claim by the menteri besar that it does not.

Sources told the New Straits Times that one of the exco members detained by the Anti-Corruption Agency for alleged graft had even showed a third party the land earmarked for the mammoth project recently.

It is understood that the idea to develop a large parcel of land in the Perak Tengah district for housing cropped up during an informal meeting at the Perak Tengah district office and was immediately acted upon by one the suspects.

"The third party was even taken to the proposed site before he agreed to submit a proposal to develop the land.

"It is still in the early planning stages. This is why searches by the state government on the project did not come up with anything," a source said.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said on Wednesday the project did not exist, shortly after the ACA announced the arrest of six people in its probe into allegations that they had received RM120,000 to expedite the approval process.

Perak Tengah district officer Hasim Hasan said even if a survey on the said land had been carried out, it was strictly between the parties concerned.

It is understood that the ACA will call Hasim later today to record his statement to facilitate investigations.