DAP Johor assemblyman Wong Shu Qi was ejected from the state legislative assembly today after she alleged in the house that Johor Menteri Besar Khaled Nordin was involved in a land scandal linked to former state exco Abd Latif Bandi.

Wong had asked whether it was true that Khaled had received RM12 million from a developer to change the Bumiputera status of a residential plot of land to non-Bumiputera.

The Senai rep also alleged while debating the state budget for 2018 that RM11.2 million of the total sum was given in cash. 

Khaled was not present at the legislative assembly sitting today.

Wong refused to withdraw her remarks when Deputy Speaker Baderi Dasuki ordered her to do so, prompting Barisan Nasional reps to demand that she be referred to the assembly’s Rights and Privileges Committee.

Suhaimi Salleh (BN-Kukup) accused her of ill intent towards Khaled and demanded that she retract her statement. Other BN assemblymen supported his call.

Baderi told Wong that the alleged scandal was being heard by the courts and she should not have raised it in the assembly.

Wong was ordered to leave the assembly when the house resumed its sitting at 2.30pm, after she defied Speaker Mohamed Aziz’s instruction to retract her statements.

Earlier, Wong said the allegations against Khaled had surfaced in March and were based on witness statements in an investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

“This witness is not a middleman in the alleged translation. I was informed about the witness’ statement after the documents were posted on the Internet,” she said.

The alleged scandal involved former Abd Latif, 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.

In April, Abd Latif and Amir were charged with 33 counts of graft under the MACC Act and pleaded not guilty. Abd Latin resigned from his post later the same month.

Wong said the alleged corruption had come at great cost to the state.

“From this discovery, we have found that the money paid to the menteri besar, the exco and the middleman, is almost the same as the amount paid by the developer to the Johor State Housing Fund, which is RM40 million.

“In other words, this fund has lost out because of the misappropriation of funds,” she told the house.

Wong appealed to Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to intervene and allow a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the matter.

At a press conference later, Wong said she would not retract her comments about Khaled.

She also refused to name the website she mentioned.

Baderi, meanwhile, told reporters separately that based on the house’s Standing Orders, Wong should not have raised something that was being heard by the courts. Wong had also raised negative presumptions against Khaled, he said. – November 27, 2017.