ALL parties involved in the Ijok land dispute benefitted in the settlement agreement with the Pakatan Harapan-led Selangor government, said Amanah’s communication director  Khalid Samad.

Khalid, who played an active role in seeing the case to a close, said the settlers, the state government, the companies which had failed to complete the project as well as the developers had all benefitted from the terms of the settlement.

“It’s a win-win situation, when all parties are defended and satisfied,” the Shah Alam MP told The Malaysian Insight.

In 2008, a group of settlers had sought the assistance of then-Kuala Selangor MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad of PAS to end a long wait for housing and compensation for their land.

Dr Dzulkefly, who is now Amanah strategic director, had brought the issue to the attention of the state government which was then led by menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim, who decided to resolve the problem by invoking the National Land Code to take back the land.

However, the move sparked objections, leading to the companies and banks involved in the deal taking legal action.

“When Dr Dzulkefly lost in Kuala Selangor in 2013, the settlers came to me, as the Shah Alam MP. From there, I became involved, together with Dr Dzul, and later brought up this case with the new Menteri Besar Azmin Ali.

“From there, we reached a resolution that was agreeable for all parties, especially the almost 1,000 settlers involved,” said Khalid.

Under the terms of the settlement, developer Eco World will build Eco Grandeur on the land; the state government will get 400ha of land; the old developers will be compensated; and the 987 settlers will each receive a double-storey terrace house worth more than RM450,000 at Eco Grandeur, on top of RM180,000 for each family.

Barisan Nasional strategic communications drector Abdul Rahman Dahlan had recently questioned the decision of the state government to hand over 880ha of land to the new ijokjhhdevelopers even before the case was heard in the Federal Court.

“What is Azmin’s justification in handing over this land to Mujur Zaman Sdn Bhd and LCBN Development Sdn Bhd, when the High Court and Court of Appeals decision had ruled in support of the former Selangor menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s move to reclaim the land.

“Why isn’t Azmin waiting for the case to be heard in the Federal Court, when the state government had won it (the case)? Why be in a hurry to make a decision that does not benefit the state government and the people of Selangor?” he said at a press conference on February 14.

According to Khalid Samad, several parties had filed suit after the former menteri besar took back the land and and it would have been long and tedious wait for resolution.

“When would it be finally resolved, even as nearly 1,000 settlers continued to experience hardship? So negotiation and discussion was the best way, and it yielded the best results.”

Khalid said the only parties dissatisfied with the terms of the settlement were those who had vested interest in the land.

“The one who failed is the state government under Umno, who had taken the land from the settlers in 2000,” he said. – February 24, 2018.