The controversy over the land stems from allegations by DAP in September that Selangor MCA had paid far below the market rate to acquire the one acre (0.4 hectare) plot.
Chempaka Buddhist Lodge president SK Tan said he had filed the case at the Shah Alam High Court last week, as there had been no updates on the land sale.
“It all started five years ago when we were approached by someone who had in turn been approached by Selangor MCA to buy the land.
“However, the person was not up to buying the land, so they put MCA in touch with us directly,” he told FMT.
Tan said they went ahead and decided to purchase the land as Selangor MCA had seemed interested to sell it to them.
“We negotiated with them, but they said they could not directly sell the land to us, for whatever reason.
“However, they then told us they could swap the land with an office unit,” he said, adding that the association then booked a completed office lot in Shah Alam for RM2.5 million which was the same price as that of the land which they wanted.
“Selangor MCA gave us a letter to start the process, which is what we did.
“We booked an office and paid the 10% which is RM250,000 and then we approached Selangor MCA with our lawyer’s sales and purchase agreement for swapping.
“But todate, there has been no conclusion to this transaction despite us meeting MCA president Liow Tiong Lai to help resolve the matter in 2015,” Tan said.
He added that the association was interested in acquiring the plot of land in question only because it is about one to two kilometres from where they usually carry out their religious activities.
Last September, DAP had raised the issue of the piece of land along Sg Kayu Ara in SS25, which they claimed Selangor MCA bought for RM1 per square foot (psf) instead of the market price of RM400 psf from the Selangor state government.
In September, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua alleged that the transaction was done in 2007 when MCA’s Chew Mei Fun was the MP for his constituency, and Barisan Nasional led the state government.
Pua had said the then BN state government had approved the land to be sold at RM1 per square foot to MCA and the transaction was allegedly completed in early 2008.
Selangor MCA tried to convert land
Damansara Utama assemblyperson Yeo Bee Yin had previously said they had discovered the matter when MCA applied to the state government in March to change the zoning of the land.
She claimed the land was part of a water body and Selangor MCA wanted it to be converted to a commercial plot.
In a separate press conference today, Pua said the dispute between the Buddhist association and Selangor MCA showed the latter had intended to resell the land all along.
“They had said they bought the land for public purposes and to do good for the public.”
He said the Buddhist association’s lawsuit also shows Selangor MCA bought the land for RM50,000 in 2008 and were planning to sell it for RM2.5 million in 2012.
Pua had previously claimed the land was purchased for RM1 psf, a price which is normally reserved for religious bodies to build places of worship.
“This action by the association clearly proves that Selangor MCA’s claim that they wanted to do good for the public was not true.”
Meanwhile, PJ Utara MCA division chairman Tan Gim Tuan told FMT that it was good for the Buddhist association to bring the matter to court.
“This is where the facts will appear, as any sale or purchase of property involving associations must get official approval from the committee members and not be concluded by just one person,” he said.
Yeo to MCA: PJ land to be used for public services – really?
DAP wants MCA to explain land purchased at below market price