IPOH: The Perak Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a meeting over the sale of a plot of land in Seri Iskandar that was meant to develop an international airport.

       State PAC chairman Mohd Tarmizi Idris (pic) said he would be calling for the meeting but did not give a timeframe.

       Tarmizi also confirmed that state PAC member and Simpang Pulai assemblyman Tan Kar Hing had contacted him over the matter.

       "I told him that a meeting will be called. He need not hold a press conference about it," he said when contacted on Wednesday (April 6).

       Last week, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said the piece of land was sold to a private company when Pakatan Harapan was in power.

       The matter came to light during the state assembly meeting.

       The airport project was unveiled by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2018 when announcing Barisan Nasional’s 14th general election manifesto.

       At the press conference held by Tan and Keranji assemblyman Chong Zhemin on Wednesday, the former said it was the responsibility of the committee to play an important role as a check-and-balance to look into the matter.

       "It is important not only to identify under which government the land was sold, but also the process of approving the sale, the exact location of the land, the price it was sold at and whether there were elements of misconduct," he added.

       Chong, meanwhile, urged Saarani to cancel or suspend the planning permission for any development on the piece of land to facilitate the investigation.

       "The state should stop any development there until the issue has been resolved," he added.