JOHOR Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin today denied allegations by the opposition DAP that he was involved in a land scandal which is now a court case.
Khaled said the claims linking him to the case of a former Johor exco involved in the changing of residential land status from Bumiputera to non-Bumiputera were baseless and slanderous.
“First of all, I strongly deny the baseless allegations. They are lies, slander and have nothing to do with me.
“My administration has never received any kickbacks nor have we ever received any bribes, and I oppose all efforts to offer bribes to me or my administration,” he said at the Johor assembly sitting today during his winding-up speech.
The Barisan Nasional menteri besar said the attempt to link him to the scandal smacked of malice and was intented to “shame and tarnish” his name as an individual and as head of the state government.
The allegations were raised in the legislative assembly last week by DAP’s Senai rep Wong Shu Qi, citing statements collected by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) during its investigations into the case.
She alleged that Khaled had received more than RM12 million from a developer to change the status of the residential land.
Khaled today said he was not even in the country at the time he allegedly received the money.
“It is sufficient for me to state here that on those dates stated in the documents, I was out of the country on various official matters and was completely absent from the Umno state liaison office, what more around to receive bribes!”
He added that he was thankful that MACC had acted swiftly to confirm that the statements it collected were classified and had urged police to investigate the leak.
“This means, the contents that were spread are not true, inaccurate, and have been distorted from the original contents,” the Permas assemblyman told the state legislature.
He criticised state opposition reps for relying on classified documents in an ongoing court case, saying such information could not be taken as evidence without going through an investigation and the legal process.
“Whoever obtained a copy of the documents and read it, should be more careful. We must ensure we are certain that the contents are true and verifiable, even when we receive such documents from an assemblyman, a lawmaker.
“We would have expected an assemblyman to know such things,” he said, taking a jibe at Wong.
Khaled also criticised Wong for raising the allegations against him in the legislative assembly, saying she had tarnished the house with unreliable information.
He urged the authorities to act against Wong and added that he would also take legal action against anyone else who repeated the claims against him.
The alleged scandal involves Abd Latif Bandi, the former Johor exco for housing and local government, and property consultant Amir Shariffuddin Abdul Raub, who were charged with corruption, involving bribes worth more than RM30.3 million between 2013 and last year.
Amir lodged a police report on November 29 upon learning that the MACC investigation documents had gone viral on blogs and social media, as they involved statements he had given to the anti-graft agency.
“There were a few pages that were not included in the uploads, and there was also a schedule of payments included, which has nothing to do with the investigation into my alleged offence.
“The front page of the investigation statement is also different from what was given by me. I have found that blogs and Facebook posts are intentionally trying to discredit me,” Amir said in the report.
In a statement issued through his lawyer, Azrul Zulkifli Stork of Tetuan Azhardin & Associates, Amir said MACC, as well as Latif and his lawyers, should be investigated over the leaked statements. – December 4, 2017.
EPF宣布511推第三户口 可随时提款最低50令吉
Taikun adakan rundingan berhubung kasino di Forest City, kata laporan
Tahanan rumah tiada dalam undang-undang, kata sumber
House arrest order for Najib unenforceable by law, say sources
Caring begins in the classroom
Azmyl Yunor
Comments
Posted 6 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply
Posted 6 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply
Posted 6 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply
Posted 6 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply
If the witness’ statement alleging you have received millions was concocted as claimed by you, why didn’t you make an immediate denial when challenged to respond in the state assembly 7 days ago on Nov 27? And why didn’t you do so the next day when challenged again by Pakatan Harapan in a joint statement signed by all the top leaders of its component parties in the state?
DAP spokesman Tony Pua asked on Dec 1 why MACC had not apprehended you, having sat on the evidence given by the witness for seven months, even giving some categorical details of such bribes conveyed to you. Facing such serious and categorical accusation, why didn’t you retort immediately?
Khaled, you claimed MACC had indicated the contents of the witness’s statement as false through its action of asking the police to probe its leakage from the MACC file. Wrong, Khaled! On the contrary, MACC had confirmed the authenticity of this leaked document the very next day of its disclosure in the state assembly, ie. Nov 28, when it also declared that this was a classified document.
Under the circumstances, Khaled, your denial sounds hollow. You have made false claim of an MACC vindication and your belated reply could only be conceived as a strategy to gain time to complete some dishonourable manoeuvring.
Posted 6 years ago by Kim quek · Reply