KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — DAP’s Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh and Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) today called for the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) to scrutinise the Taman Rimba Kiara development project.
In a press conference today, Yeoh said there is a clear conflict of interest in the development project as it is under the purview of Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP) whose current chairman is Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad.
Khalid has said previously that he and the stakeholders are proposing to cut the development project by half and if they were to cancel the project, the government would incur hundreds of millions in compensation payments.
C4 has disputed this, claiming that there are no laws in place to force anyone to pay such an exorbitant amount.
“The Federal Territories (FT) minister talks a lot about compensation if we cancel this project. So since it involves compensation from the government, I want the Attorney General Tommy Thomas to be consulted,” said Yeoh at a media briefing at C4 headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.
“Currently, there are two proposals. The one from Khalid is to scale down the project to which we have said no. Our counter-proposal is if they want to build, they must only build within the longhouse footprint and not encroach into the park.
“Secondly, Khalid said he will bring these decisions to the Cabinet and I agree with this because the minister is in a conflicted position because he is also YWP chairman who now owns part of Taman Rimba Kiara.”
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A view of Taman Rimba Kiara in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur August 4, 2018 Picture by Shafwan Zaidon |
The third matter brought up by Yeoh was the fact no action has been taken by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) who has been given all the information and proof of conflict of interest by C4.
“Clearly, there is a conflict of interest but why hasn’t MACC replied to these allegations?” Yeoh asked.
“All the information and background work has been done by C4 and given to MACC. What’s taking them so long I don’t know but this is evidence of clear conflict of interest.”
Lawyer and former Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who was in attendance at the press conference, highlighted how disgusted she was to see the current administration colluding with developers.
She said she hoped under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration there would be no more overdevelopment in Kuala Lumpur where many buildings and office spaces are yet to be used yet more continue to sprout in and around Kuala Lumpur.
“I have to express my utter disappointment in the PH government for not fulfilling a vision we all had for the future of Malaysia,” said Ambiga.
“Kuala Lumpur is so over-developed and I thought this government will put a stop to that and we won’t be held captive by developers. Unfortunately, this example of Taman Rimba Kiara is a stark example of how this government is not distancing itself from the previous one.”
Ambiga questioned Khalid’s motives for not distancing himself from the someone like former FT minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor who for years has been involved in issues relating to developers. Tengku Adnan was the former YMP chairman. [...]
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Khalid, are you trying to ape him? Will you be attempting to turn Penang into another FT? |
“It is so disappointing and disgusting, with due respect, to use the longhouse residents to further the agenda of a private developer when it’s the public’s interest that must come first.” [...]
“You criticised the Barisan Nasional government when it did almost exactly the same thing. Now you need to be able to take those criticisms and be frank with us as to what is going on.
“Why do we still have this Yayasan? Yayasan means helping the poor but look at the way it’s disguised. It helps a few poor but the largest beneficiary of that joint venture is the private developer.”
Ambiga said she believed Khalid and team were getting advice from a private lawyer on these matters and felt this was wrong as they should have sought the AGC for advice.
“It’s hugely disappointing that this government continues to do this to us so we have to stand up and speak up,” Ambiga continued.
“The PH government owes it to us to ensure that there is full disclosure and investigations into this project. And when giving us answers be clear cut with facts.
“Don’t be glib and sarcastic with the answers,” she said.
To cut the story short, Khalid Samad has been VERY naughty, and is now accused of working in the interests of developers when he ought to be looking after the public (long house residents), instead of misusing the name of the longhouse residents to further the agenda of a private developer when it’s the public’s interests that must come first.
To make things worse, Khalid as FT Minister has been using the service of a private lawyer on these matters instead of seeking the advice of the AG.
I wonder whether the private lawyer also works with the developers, or has been recommended by them?
But take it from me, from my observations of the earlier Mahathir regime, it was very pro developers and very pro low basic wages. Mahathir was then very worried that a Malaysian high basic wage would drive overseas investors away. You bet the unions were then driven mad, wakakaka.
Again, I wonder whether Khalid has received "special" instructions? Wakakaka.
As for MACC, hmmm, strategic 'act dunno'?
I salute Hannah for standing up to Khalid Samad, who disappoints me enormously for his pro big developers mentality. This is most un-Amanah, wakakaka.
And as always, kudos to Ambiga Sreenevasan and C4.
If only Tiger Teresa is not so busy defending palm oil in EU and promoting its benefits for smooth complexion she will chew up Khalid Samad for dinner and spit out all the hair; he’s just the entre mind you, not the main course.
ReplyDeleteThe same old grandmother's story of mamak's fault!
ReplyDeleteMy take is this useless ft minister is been conned by those developer colluders within the dbkl.
They r playing with his nice & dependable attitude of trying to be fair. Along the way this blurred f*ck is been diverted from doing the RIGHT thing which he is empowered to do!
So, will the longhouse occupants finally get their condos built and paid for by the developer after so many years when all thru the years after being evicted to make way for the developers to build and sell houses around there previously and with the connivance of DBKL and YWP?
ReplyDeleteWhy should those long house residents be made to wait again and be made as the bargaining chip by the developer and YWP?
Built that first as priority
Khalid Samad and Mujahid Rawa are two particular Amanah ministers who appear to have been Co-Opted by their respective "Permanent Government" - particularly the senior civil service officials.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt ministers need to have an effective working relationship with their ministry civil servants, but they must be very careful they don't instead become the ones being led by the nose.
The two Ministries in question are especially dangerous and questionable.
KL City Hall and the Federal Territories ministry have for decades been opaque and unaccountable bureaucracy.
Even without direct local government elections, local government in the States are at least accountable to their respective State governments and Municipal Councils.
KL City Hall , without proper accountability, has been a den of abuse of power and corruption for decades.
The Religious Affairs Ministry , on the other hand, is full of Islamist conservatives, even extremists, whose viewpoint and assumptions are inconsistent with Malaysia as a Multi-Racial, Multi-Religious country.
Unless they make a conscious effort to stick with Pakatan's inclusive blueprint, these two Ministers could well become as bad or worse than the previous BN Ministers in those portfolios.