pic by TMR FILE

A TOTAL of 97 transactions on land owned by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) that were sold since 2011 did not go through proper standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh (Pakatan Harapan-Ipoh Timur) said DBKL did not have any SOPs on the disposal or selling of its land.

He said DBKL only improved the process of sale and disposal of land after 2015 through a privatisation committee with preparation of checklists that have more detailed procedures, for which it received ISO recognition in 2017.

“A total of 97 sale transactions on land owned by DBKL which were sold since 2011 did not refer to any SOPs.

“The process was too loose, prone to abuse of power and protected neither the interest of DBKL nor the people of KL,” said Wong in a statement yesterday.

The PAC has tabled a report on the land sales to the Dewan Rakyat after holding five proceedings with relevant parties involved in the matter.

The final proceeding was held on Nov 12 last year.

In the report, the PAC said the KL City Plan 2020 (KLCP 2020) draft which has been approved differed from the draft plan tabled to the public in 2008.

The draft plan which was gazetted has yet to receive feedback from all stakeholders in KL.

Besides, more than 200 development orders (DO) were issued by DBKL while waiting for approval from the Federal Territories minister on the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020.

PAC also revealed that there was conflict of interest in the management of Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP) since the minister and the mayor both hold positions in it. This is because YWP also purchased land from DBKL.

In the statement, the committee urged the government to conduct matters relating to the sale and disposal of land under DBKL openly and based on comprehensive SOPs.

Wong added that the Federal Territories Ministry and DBKL need to review KLCP 2020 again and take into account the changes made from the original draft.

“The government has to review the function and suitability of YWP to ensure it is in line with its purpose which is to protect the interest of the people in KL.

“The current structure and practices of YWP does not enable the involvement of the Federal Territories minister and the KL city mayor without any conflict of interest.

“YWP status needs to be changed to a statutory body to enable a more effective monitoring by the government,” Wong said.

Read our earlier report here