Friday, July 27, 2007

Mayday for Port Klang (contd.)

My ancestors were Bugis pirates who terrorised the seas of the Malay Archipelago many years ago, but even they cannot match the modern day pirates now robbing this country blind. These bastards now hide behind the Official Secrets Act, Internal Security Act, the Sedition Act etc., and even vague assurances like, "Dont worry lah, the PM says its OK" ... knowing jolly well that not many of us can simply pick up the phone and ask the old man, "Betul ke?"


PKFZ Customs Gate

Not surprisingly, none of the mainstream English news media has mentioned a word about this latest PKFZ fiasco. However, yesterday's The Sun newspaper followed my earlier blog with this banner headline: "A RM4.6B LANDMARK FLOP". Columnist R. Nadeswaran has also listed a few juicy details I have only read about in a few surat layang or anonymous "flying letters" in the past:

> The land was first acquired by Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd. in 1999 from a cooperative society of poor Malay fishermen in Pulau Indah for about RM96 million or about RM3 per sq. ft.

> About 3 years later, Klang Port Authority bought the land from Kuala Dimensi at RM25 per sq.ft. (or RM1.46 million per acre) totaling RM1.09 billion although the Securities Commission had earlier disagreed with the valuation.

(In other words, the poor fishermen of Pulau Indah have been had!).

> In 2005, Wijaya Baru Sdn. Bhd., a Kuala Dimensi related company, bought an adjacent piece of land of 381 acres for only RM130 million or about RM341,299 per acre. Compared to what the port paid them earlier, this is peanuts.

> The government could have easily acquired the land under the National Land Code for less than RM10 per sq, ft. as per government valuers which somehow the port authority chose to ignore.

> Originally, the whole project which was somehow awarded to Kuala Dimensi without a tender exercise, was estimated to cost only RM1.82 billion but the port has entered into supplementary agreements which have ballooned the costs to a staggering RM4.63 billion!

> It is quite apparent now that standard procedures have not been followed and approvals have not been sought at the highest levels.

As a former port employee who has spent his entire working life in the port, I am now sufficiently pissed off to want to strangle somebody. The ISA and the OSA does not scare me now that Port Klang's good name and sterling reputation in international shipping I had helped built painstakingly over the years have been severely compromised. Dammit sirs, someone has got some explaining to do.

5 comments:

  1. All right Captain!

    Let's up the ante a bit, eh?

    Den, mak ajo org minang, bolah ayah samo lah kito. Ontah-ontah satu prahu dongan moyang2 Najib dulu kot?

    Anyway Cap't, the country, if we're not careful will descend into a mess like a neighboring country of ours: where scandals are a dime a dozen. Pretty soon nobody gives a shit anymore. But no, not us. We love this country too much...

    Keep it up Cap'n, esp. shenanigans in the Marine Sector.

    If not you, then who?

    Salaam, 'bang.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Capt,
    Maybe am stretching my imagination too far.Suddenly it occur to me some Datuk with Istana in kelang could have benefitted from this nonbrainer scheme 'cepat kaya'.

    Official secret act suddenly become the save haven for modern day pirates without having to look like crook that they really are.The people seem to adore and worship these pirates ,and they in turn would preach in their high and morally grounded self ,how dedicated were they in their fights for the betterment of the rakyat.....I feel so hapless

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ahoy Capt. and my Swamp Man....dont you figure this is a job for Azlina and her Cyber-troppers. If you Rm100 a day boys/girls cant probe into this, then we will give your job to the Rela boys...they need the money.
    I can sense the anger brewing in Capt. and if those guilty s.o.b(s) are not brought to book, I just fear for the auditor general. Remember, he has got bugis buncaneer darah. Luckily, Swampman, you and I are his friends.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi all,

    You are right, the whole thing stinks to high heaven. Perhaps we should not talk about issues and problems anymore but about SOLUTIONS.

    Time is running out for our beloved country.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Funeral Parlour operating without license, Illegal billboards, instant approvals for fancy structures across the federal highway, even though the Residents protested (it was supposed to be a pedestrian bridge, but yet I do not see any steps!).
    I guess all those don't mean nothing, when you can actually cash out from the port like you do with an ATM!
    And where will we go from here? Reclaim more land???!

    ReplyDelete

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