It is still happening in land offices throughout the country.

Today, Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Khir Toyo said some land office employees are hiding applications for land, with the aim of grabbing land for themselves. Recently I also read that a Perak land officer approved to his wife a piece of land that was applied by a farmer who had been cultivating the land for years.

Such cases occurred in land offices where certain officers well versed in land matters hid the original applications.

After some months they submit a new application with names of family members to get the same plot of land.

An incensed Dr Khir said the culprits would be sacked if three complaints were made against them. He said that in Dubai, if an officer received three complaints against him, he would be sacked. “If I were to do this here, there might be no one left,” he said.

One time is too many already, Dr Khir, as this fraudulent practices in land office cannot be tolerated at all. The Menteri Besar should ask the ACA to step in now.

There must be political will in the government to clean up the land offices where land transactions were made based on forged documents. So many land owners or buyers are tricked into such transactions. There are syndicates working hand in glove with dishonest and corrupted land office employees, lawyers and brokers.

The police are also dragging their feet whenever such cases are reported.

I am now pursuing one such case which occurred in the Penang land office. I tried contacting the investigating officer many times but to no avail. Finally the commercial crime unit head replied that they are still investigating the case, two months after the report was lodged by the victim.

The Minister promised at the last session of Parliament that they are working on the matter. But there are so many cheating cases happening all over the country.

I will pursue the matter again in the coming session of Parliament which begins on 18 June.