The Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) today confirmed that it had regained possession of all 16 lots of land in Jalan Semarak that had been transferred to a company for development of the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City (KLVC).

Felda chairperson Shahrir Abdul Samad said 17 lots of land had been transferred to the company, Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd (SPSB), through four sale-and-purchase agreements in 2015 and 2016 but only 16 lots were registered in the name of SPSB.

“The 16 lots were registered on various dates. Finally, after various processes and negotiations up to yesterday (Mar 8), we have been able to get back the lots in the Felda name,” he said at a press conference at Menara Felda here.

The issue over the ownership of the Felda land erupted last December after a local newspaper revealed that Felda was at risk of losing its land valued at RM270 million for the development of KLVC through a dubious transfer transaction from 2015.

It was reported last month that Felda would regain possession of the land from SPSB without cost.

Caveats lifted

Shahrir said the caveats on all the lots were lifted last month to enable the titles to be changed to the Felda name.

These were the private caveats that were obtained in April last year and the registrar’s caveats that were imposed after a police report was made so as to freeze any development on the land, he said.

It was a normal process for private caveats to be replaced with registrar’s caveats after a police report is made, he said, adding that the police would apply to impose the registrar’s caveat.

“So, the private and registrar’s caveats were lifted to enable us to register the land in the Felda name again. We did the registration on Mar 2, 2018, for 14 lots. The remaining two lots were registered yesterday,” he said.

Shahrir said Felda’s success in regaining possession of the land followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with SPSB on Jan 15 this year.

The agreement outlined three matters: SPSB returns the land to Felda for re-registration without cost to Felda, a reconsideration by the two parties to improve the land development agreement, and for the police investigation into the land transaction to continue.

Negotiations to improve T&C

Shahrir said that following the change of name in the land titles, the Special Committee on Negotiations appointed on Feb 8 would begin negotiations with the developer company to improve the terms and conditions of the land development agreement.

The committee would also comprise representatives from the Public Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) and the Felda board of directors, he said, adding that the participation of UKAS in the negotiations was due to the expertise and experience of the unit in the development of government land and assets.

The Felda land in Jalan Semarak comprised 24 lots with a total area of eight hectares for development by SPSB as the KLVC.

Shahrir declined to disclose the value of the 24 lots and repeatedly said that it would be determined and evaluated by the Valuation and Property Services Department.

- Bernama