LAND near Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve was valued by Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN) at about RM55 per square foot, but was sold to a private developer for RM13.80 per sq. ft, says Subang MP Wong Chen.
He said the LHDN valuation was stated in ad valorem stamp duty assessment records dated May 5, 2019, which his office had obtained together with land titles and memorandum of transfer documents.
Wong said the documents showed that the land was transferred to the developer at RM13.80 per sq ft, although LHDN had assessed parts of the land at about RM55 per sq ft.
“This is the official government data,” he said at a press conference today at Subang Parliamentary Constituency’s People’s Service Centre in Puchong.
“The government has to answer why the land was sold so cheaply,” he added.
Wong said the difference meant the land was sold at about one-quarter of the value assessed by LHDN for stamp duty purposes.
He said if the RM55 per sq ft valuation was applied to the entire land, it would have been worth about RM404mil, compared with the RM101mil sale price previously stated by Selangor government.
He said this raised questions over whether the land had been sold below market value.
“I am not making an allegation of corruption, but I am demanding a full investigation into this matter,” he said.
Wong said the LHDN valuation also contradicted the state government’s earlier explanation that the land was sold based on a 2012 valuation by an appointed property consultant.
Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had previously said the land was valued at RM13.02 per sq ft, or RM95.3mil, before being sold through open tender for RM101mil, which was 5.9% above the valuation.
Wong said the state government should explain why the consultant’s valuation was much lower than LHDN’s 2019 valuation.
He said documents obtained by his office also showed that the 68ha (169 acres) comprised about 12.5ha (31 acres) of leasehold land and 55.75ha (138 acres) of freehold land.
He questioned why the state had referred to a single valuation of RM13.80 per sq ft for the entire tract, despite freehold land usually carrying a higher market value than leasehold land.
“There should have been separate valuations for the leasehold and freehold portions.
“There is still a lot of grey area. Was there one transaction or two? The state government has not answered this clearly,” he said.
Wong also questioned why the state proceeded with the transfer after the 2017 Federal Court ruling which upheld the local authority’s decision to reject development on the land due to slope conditions.
Amirudin had previously said the current state administration had never approved any development in the area, and that the site was unsafe for commercial or residential development because 75% of it fell under Class 3 and Class 4 slope categories.
He had also said the Court of Appeal and Federal Court had ruled in favour of the local authority, confirming that the decision to reject development due to slope conditions was correct.
Wong said the state’s position was contradicted by the fact that the land deal was completed after the court ruling, with ownership transferred in 2019 and 2020.
“If the Selangor government says it never intended to allow development after the 2017 ruling, why did it not cancel the sale and purchase agreement and return the deposit? Instead, the state proceeded to collect the balance payment and transfer the land,” he said.
Wong also pointed to the Subang Jaya Local Plan 2035, saying the land was listed in the local plan as planned housing, approved by the state executive council on Nov 3, 2021.
He said this was inconsistent with the state government’s position that the land was unsuitable for development.
“On one hand, the state says it does not want the land developed. On the other hand, its own local plan classifies the land for planned housing.
“This does not align,” he said.
Wong said the issue showed what he described as institutional opacity, as residents were not informed that the land had been sold and transferred until a developer-led social impact assessment process was initiated last year.
Residents and activists opposing the proposed development had since collected 9,906 signatures.
They have raised concerns over slope safety, traffic congestion, environmental impact and the loss of a green lung used by hikers and nearby communities.
Wong said his office had earlier asked for details of the land transaction through a question submitted by Rawang assemblyman Chua Wei Kiat at the Selangor state assembly.
However, he claimed the answer given on May 13 was unsatisfactory as it focused on the land’s historical chronology from 1906 to 1929 instead of the 2012 transaction.
“We had asked for the deal in 2012, but the answer gave us a 100-year-old story," he pointed out.
He urged the state government to release the sale and purchase agreement, valuation reports and full transaction documents involving the private developer.
Wong said the state should also consider buying back the land if it maintained that the area should not be developed.
“If the government sold it at RM13.80 per sq ft, then offer to buy it back at RM13.80 per sq ft plus reasonable interest.
“Do not just say there will be no development, without proposing a real solution,” he said.
“This is about administrative opacity and deflection.
“The Selangor government must be transparent and accountable,” he added.
