'Land Appeal Made' In Trial
By Abdul Rahim Mohd Taib Hadi DP Mahmud

Bandar Seri Begawan - The prosecution witness in the corruption case involving former development minister Pengiran Indera Wijaya Pg Dr Ismail Pg Damit said yesterday TED Sdn Bhd had on April 18, 1994 appealed directly to the defendant that it be given additional TOL land from 1.3 acres to five acres.

Pg Tejudin Pg Puteh quoted from a ministry of development's minute dated June 15 in which PR officer Taib Jeludin asked him about the status of TED Sdn Bhd's application. On June 16, 1994 Pg Tejudin responded, saying that according to the Commissioner of Land, "the application for the additional area had not been forwarded to the Permanent Secretary, but instead was forwarded to Planning for evaluation. This was because it was understood that the additional area applied for by TED, Sdn Bhd was overlapping with other TOL land sites".

Pg Tejudin said the previous approval was for 1.3 acres of TOL land with an additional area of up to 2.5 acres subject to avail-y ability of area. The matter was brought up again by the former minister via his minute to the Officer for the Permanent Secretary of Land, Idris Belaman, who then forwarded it to Pg Tejudin.

A meeting was then set up on June 28, 1994 between the former minister, Idris Belaman, Taib Jeludin, Pg Tejudin, Dyg Zainon Abg Omarzuki and Mohd Ghazalin Mokti. The former minister then said that because TED Sdn Bhd had many businesses and operations, a plot of 1.3 acres or 2.45 was not enough. He reportedly had no objection for TED Sdn Bhd's appeal for five acres.

Pg Tejudin asked the former minister during the meeting how the approval for TED's appeal was to be given. The former minister instructed Pg Tejudin to refer to that meeting, and stated that he had approved TED's appeal from 1.3 acres to five acres.

The approval for five acres of TOL land was made in a memorandum dated July 9, 1994 to the Commissioner of Land for the attention of Dyg Zainon. The Commissioner would coordinate with TCPD and would later inform the Ministry of Development.

A copy of the memorandum was also given to the Commissioner of TCP. Pg Tejudin recalled participating in working visits of the former minister to projects sites in Bengkurong and Mulaut but could not be certain if any of such visits was specifically to inspect the site for industrial TOL land applied for by TED.

"The statement that I have made above are based on references to files ... belonging to the Ministry of Development that is the new application for TOL from Pehin Kapitan Cina Dato Lim Teck Hoo (Ted Sdn Bhd) for an area of 2.45 acres that was shown to me," he said.

Defense counsel Christopher Fernando asked Pg Tejudin about the criteria used for approval. He said he was confused "with the words approval and allocation" but remembered the existence of guidelines used for such procedure that could be obtained either from the MOD or the Land Office.

When asked by Fernando if there was a policy file related to the guidelines, he said there was but he could not remember "the main features" of such guidelines. At this point, Fernando produced a copy of such guidelines.

Fernando asked for confirmation that TED Sdn Bhd was eligible and that at that time it was running the most construction projects, Pg Tejudin confirmed. The hearing will re-open on February 1 next year. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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