Time for some answers
09/09/2008 Down 2 Earth, The Sun

BEFORE I begin, let me state that we have no issues with developers – as long as they carry out their projects legally and ethically. And thank goodness, there are still some of this dying breed of responsible businessmen left in this country.

Now, the saga of cemetery land being sold to developers as was exposed in theSun yesterday is nothing new.

It merely reflects a convention of how the capitalist former government in Selangor had freely, by throwing the rule books out of the window, alienated vast tracts of land meant for public use to bag carriers, bill settlers and supporters.

It is also a testament of how some developers may have colluded with those in the Land Office and even the State Executive Council to steal land from rightful owners.

How else can you explain Damansara Jaya Development being asked to surrender land for the purpose of a cemetery for a song, only to have the state government sell the land to another developer for profit? Pay Damansara Jaya RM3.25 million for the land and sell it to Metro Kajang Holdings for RM11.24 million – making a cool profit of RM7.99 million.

And while Damansara Jaya licks its wounds with its RM3.25 million consolation, Metro Kajang through its subsidiary Cekap Corporation Bhd and Nayaka (M) Sdn Bhd profit from the massive development of what was initially burial ground – reaping RM60 million in profits in the process.

You do the maths. Why wouldn’t Damansara Jaya be pissed off?

And how did Nayaka come into the picture? One is perplexed as to why an established developer like Metro Kajang, which at that time had 20 years in the business, would do business with a company that showed RM6,000 loss in 1998. Ironically, the Companies Corporation of Malaysia does not have any other financial records.

A close scrutiny of the joint venture agreement between Nayaka and Cekap reveals Nayaka gets RM8 million plus 0.5% of the gross aggregate value of the project (or RM2.5 million) for basically doing "bugger-all".

Am I wrong? Cekap undertakes the cost of the whole development; Cekap pays the land premium to the state and Cekap provides a performance bond of RM1 million in favour of Nayaka for the 480 low-cost units it is to surrender to the state.

What are Nayaka’s responsibilities? Execute a power of attorney to allow Cekap full access to the cemetery land which Nayaka owns.

Wah! So much profit with zero investment! Like that, I also want, can or not Mr Mentri Besar?

So how did Nayaka come into possession of cemetery land? That’s for the state government to answer. All I can tell you is that if this does not reek of rent-seeking, then you need to get your sense of smell checked.

I doubt this was what our past leaders had in mind when they drew up the New Economic Policy.

And can anyone out there tell me who Nayaka directors and shareholders Muhammad Nadzri Baharom and Kamarudin Mohd Idrus are and who they represent? I don’t know them from Adam. I bet even the good folk at Metro Kajang really do.

Perhaps Datuk Eddy Chen, group managing director of Metro Kajang and adviser to the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) can shed some light. After all, it was he who told a forum on hillslope development two weeks ago that he too would like to know how certain parcels of land were alienated by the former state government and that he would support an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Agency into the matter.

Perhaps Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Elizabeth Wong and Derek Fernandez, who are investigating land alienation in Selangor, would take the cue from Chen as they try to figure out how to return stolen land to their rightful owners – be they alive or dead.

Terence is deputy editor (special reports & investigations) at theSun. Feedback: terence@thesundaily.com