KUALA LUMPUR: The Office of the Federal Territories Minister has lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the trespassing of two plots of government land at Medan Imbi, Bukit Bintang here, according to Bernama.

Special Functions Officer to the Minister Zulhazmi Shariff said the report was lodged to enable the anti-graft agency to investigate if there was an element of misconduct or abuse of power involved in allowing the construction of permanent structures at the affected site.

“It is weird how Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) could approve planning (by a company) on land that did not belong to the company or owned by DBKL. We feel there are quarters involved in the process who received rewards from the company or other quarters,” he said in the report yesterday.

He said the documents that were handed over to MACC contained the chronology of the case, report by DBKL’s Department of Integrity, as well as reports and eviction notices by the Kuala Lumpur Land and Mines Office.

Zulhazmi was also reported as saying that notice to evict the premises at the site was served to the owner last Jan 3, but it went unheeded.

On Jan 18, The Edge Financial Daily identified the owner of the controversial building built on the land in Medan Imbi as Willowcrest Management Sdn Bhd, a company linked to businessman Datuk Seri Tee Yam @ Koo Tee Yam.

A search on the Companies Commission Malaysia website showed that Willowcrest is 99%-owned by Tee Yam, while the remaining 1% is held by Eco Habitat Sdn Bhd.

The shareholders of Eco Habitat are Tee Yam (90%), with Wong Siaw Puie and Ameera Encee Koo Abdullah owning 5% each.

On Jan 16, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad questioned how a development order had been issued to the two properties — one an office building “which looks like a six-star hotel” and the other a restaurant — in Medan Imbi when the land did not belong to either the company or DBKL.

This follows an internal investigation by the integrity unit of DBKL, which revealed that both pieces of land measuring 0.14ha on Lot 568 and Lot 716 belonged to the Federal Territories Land and Mines Office.

According to Khalid, the land was valued at nearly RM20 million, and was originally a playground with trees, but is now a site for the six-storey office bulding.