SHAH ALAM – A public inquiry on a mining scandal was told that Selangor had managed to control the theft of state land and river banks after setting up Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB).
One company monopolised sand mining in the state before 2008 but the monopoly was broken with 28 companies involved in the business now, said executive committee member Yakob Sapari.
The state’s revenue from sand mining had also increased, said Yakob, the first person to take the stand in the Selangor Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) public inquiry that began today.
Graft allegations by Kapar MP
The inquiry came about after Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam (pic) alleged corruption involving sand mining company KSSB.Yakob said KSSB was wholly owned by the state and only had jurisdiction over land owned by state and rivers in selangor.He also said KSSB's board of directors were selected and appointed by the state exco based on their experience and qualifications.
“Semesta did not have power over land owned by individuals and local councils. Given this, Semesta did not have the power to do anything when private land was encroached,” he told the inquiry, which is headed by Selangor state assembly speaker Teng Chang Khim.
Evidence to back claims
It was reported Tuesday that a contractor Zahar Rusuli had come forward to back Manikavasagam’s claims KSSB had a hand in illegal sand mining.During a press conference, Zahar had come armed with video recordings, police reports and a ledger, in which he recorded the movement of lorries between Dec 16 last year and Jan 4 at the site in Sungai Rasa near Rawang where the alleged sand mining took place.
Zahar, a Class F contractor who is also a PKR branch chairman, said he had a contract from KSSB previously to mine sand from a site near where the illegal sand mining activities were going on.
Source : http://www.malaysianmirror.com/
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