Khir's new 'Balinese-theme palace' talk of the town
Selangor opposition leader Dr Khir Toyo's lavish new home in Shah Alam is now under scrutiny as the property is allegedly beyond his means, or any menteri besar who served for eight years.
Selangor opposition leader Dr Khir Toyo's lavish new home in Shah Alam is now under scrutiny as the property is allegedly beyond his means, or any menteri besar who served for eight years.
DAP's Sekinchan state assemblyperson Ng Suee Lim claimed that the 50,000 sq feet or 0.5 hectare property was constructed at an estimated cost of RM20 million while the land was bought at a price of RM3.8 million.
"He has a right to build a house of whatever size he wants. But as a former menteri besar, he has to explain how he funded the house," said Ng, who took a large entourage of journalists to visit the property this morning.
The property is located in the secluded Jalan 1/7L in Section 7 of Shah Alam.
The homes of many wealthy elites, along with the official menteri besar's residence, is located in this suburb.
Armed with documents from the Selangor Land and Mineral Office, Ng showed proof that Khir, 44, and his wife Zahrah Kechik, 44, jointly bought the land from Ditamas Sdn Bhd in 2007.
The documents showed that a director of Ditamas is one Shamsuddin Hayroni, who Ng claims is Khir's buddy. He also said both are of Javanese descent.
Calling the property a "Balinese-style palace", Ng said that building industry experts have estimated the construction and furnishing to cost about RM20 million.
"The frontage alone costs approximately RM290,000. The tiles you see are imported," he said.
Size does matter
Ng further alleged that Khir's property was far larger than the infamous 17-room bungalow built by the late Umno politician Zakaria Mat Deros who caused a controversy in 2006.
Referring to the recent asset declaration by current Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, he said a menteri besar earns RM576,000 per annum and thus Khir would not have accumulated enough to foot the RM24 million bill.
Khir was a practising dentist before he rose up the ranks in Umno and became Selangor menteri besar in 2001 at the age of 33.
"He (as opposition leader) wants to monitor the current government, but he should also explain himself first in the name of transparency," he said.
Ng said Khir should explain the source of his wealth before accusing the current state government of corruption, like harping on claims that Khalid had misappropriated state funds to buy
48 cows
for his constituents.
To a question, Ng said he will not lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission because he has no faith in them to operate independently.
However, he said that it is up to the MACC to take action, failing which he would drop the matter and let the public judge the commission and Khir.
Allegations that Khir owned the palatial home first emerged during the run-up to the March Umno party elections, where he was running as a candidate for the Umno Youth wing chief.
A blog set up to attack Khir showed an aerial photograph of the property which showed several buildings in the large compound, complete with a swimming pool.
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