Category: Politik

Forest City Project Size Limited By Malaysia Environment Department

KUALA LUMPUR — China developer Country Gardens Holdings can develop less than 405ha, or only a quarter, of its controversial 1,600ha Forest City project in the Johor Straits, under new limits set by Malaysia’s Department of Environment (DOE), a report yesterday showed.

The Malaysian Insider has learnt that the DOE has verbally informed Country Garden Pacific View, a joint-venture unit of Country Gardens Holdings, of the new limits after complaints from locals and the Singapore Government over reclamation work in the narrow waterway between Malaysia and the island state.

“The DOE has decided to limit the project to the first phase and wait for a few years to see the impact before looking at future phases,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.

“The DOE is expected to send an official letter about its decision soon to relevant parties,” he added.

The Forest City development in the Strait of Johor, near Singapore’s Second Link, involves creating a 1,817ha island almost three times the size of Ang Mo Kio and the construction of luxury homes. The project, which includes a 49ha tourist hub and recreational facilities, is expected to be completed in 30 years’ time.

The ambitious project involves massive land reclamation work. Singapore had previously expressed concern about the possible transboundary impact of the reclamation work near its sea border.

Another source said Malaysian environmental authorities made their decision after Singapore presented videos and documentary proof of continued reclamation work for the China-Malaysia joint-venture project.

It is understood that the evidence was presented at the last Malaysia-Singapore Joint Commission on Environment, which met last month.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not issue a response to TODAY’s request for comment.

Analysts said it was difficult to gauge how much interest the project has generated among Singaporeans, but that it was likely investors would have already been cautious about the mega-project because it was on reclaimed land.

“At this point, I think the news hasn’t reached the majority of their consumers,” said Mr Sean Tan, general manager of iProperty Singapore.

“And as a Singaporean investor, obviously they would have to relook how that would affect their investment overall. I think Singaporeans being Singaporean investors, they will have a wait-and-see attitude until the formal letters and legislation have been put through.”

The reclamation work had also affected Malaysia’s nearby key transshipment hub, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP).

Last September, the Johor government said it wanted Country Garden Pacificview, the developer of Forest City, to comply with an Environmental Impact Assessment study before developing the project.

Johor Chief Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin had said it was important to ensure issues such as the environment were given full attention and that regulations were adhered to.

A public dialogue on Forest City’s Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment turned chaotic on Sept 2 when the developer was confronted by locals affected by the project who were unhappy about not being consulted before its implementation, which was seen as polluting the environment and jeopardising the area’s marine ecology.

The developers had reportedly voluntarily stopped sea reclamation to build the island, which was 30 per cent completed, on June 15 last year, although there was no official DOE notice.

The Forest City project, which has gross development value (GDV) estimated at RM600 billion (S$225 billion) on reclaimed land, is a joint venture between KPRJ, a Johor state government owned subsidiary, and Country Garden Holdings.

The China developer ventured into Johor in 2012 when it acquired 22ha of waterfront land in Danga Bay for nearly RM1 billion. It launched Phase One of the Danga Bay project in 2013, when more than 1,500 units were snapped up in three days.

It launched Phase Two of the Danga Bay project last year, selling more than 6,000 units to date. Danga Bay is part of Malaysia’s ambitious Iskandar Region corridor, a project to develop the southern state as a special development and economic zone that would attract foreign investors.

Country Gardens Holdings is China’s seventh-largest property developer with a market capitalisation of HK$63 billion (S$10.8 billion) as of Dec 31 last year.

Source: www.todayonline.com

January 6, 2015
Malaysian PM Najib Razak Suffering From E.Coli Infection After Visit To Flooded Areas

A tour of duty in areas affected by Malaysia’s worst floods in decades has left Prime Minister Najib Razak fighting an Escherichia coli (E.coli) infection, believed to be food poisoning, as the country continues to reel from the aftermath of the disaster now estimated to have caused billions of ringgit in damage.

A tweet from the Prime Minister’s Office said: “Prime Minister @NajibRazak was infected by E.coli during his visit to flood-affected areas. Doctors have advised him to rest. He will return to his duties as soon as possible.”

Mr Najib’s own Twitter posting said he would be monitoring events from home.

E.coli is a bacteria widely found in the human intestine. Certain strains can cause mild-to-severe food poisoning symptoms. Infection can happen when water or food contaminated by human or animal faeces is consumed. Most types of E. coli are harmless but some can cause diarrhoea. In its worst type, it can cause kidney failure and even death, with children the most vulnerable.

Mr Najib had just returned from Bangkok where he met Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha on Saturday to thank him for Thailand’s contributions during the floods.

The Prime Minister came under fire when he was on holiday in Hawaii as floodwaters were rising on Dec 27. He cut short the trip following widespread criticism on social media over pictures of him playing golf with United States President Barack Obama.

Immediately after his return, Mr Najib made several trip to areas devastated by the floods, including Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perak, to lead the national flood response. He ordered all ministers on holiday to return immediately to deal with the crisis. “This decision was made so that they could work to assist in the flood rescue and relief operations,” said Mr Najib.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the government would also have to face the daunting task of tackling the after-effects of the flood, which he described as “maha hebat” or very great.

“I believe that the damage will cost billions of ringgit. It is difficult for us to calculate,” Mr Muhyiddin said during an event yesterday to flag off the Prime Minister’s Department’s flood volunteers convoy. This figure has been revised upwards. Earlier, the east coast state flood disaster committee estimated losses of about RM200 million (S$75.5 million).

As at 12pm yesterday, the number of flood evacuees dropped to 45,033 in Kelantan, Pahang, Perak and Johor after surging to above 200,000 last week. Fourteen flood-related deaths were recorded in Kelantan, four in Pahang and three in Terengganu to date, data from the National Security Council website showed.

Source: www.todayonline.com

January 6, 2015
Police Looking For Woman In Relation To Loanshark Harassment Case In Sembawang

Police are looking for the female subject shown in the photograph to assist with investigations into a case of Loanshark Harassment reported at the vicinity of Sembawang Close on 1 January 2015.

The woman is believed to be in her twenties and of fair complexion, medium build and about 1.60 metres in height. She was last seen attired in a black top, blue denim shorts and black slippers. She was also wearing a pair of spectacles with a black and white frame.

Anyone with information is requested to call the Police Hotline at 1800-2550000. Information can also be submitted online at www.spf.gov.sg/CrimeStopper.

All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Source: www.facebook.com/SembawangNPC

January 6, 2015
Tommy Koh: I Am Disturbed By The Inequality In Singapore

Dr Tommy Koh has revealed that the poverty rate in Singapore can be as high as 33 percent in Singapore and 60 percent of university students come from families which cannot earn enough to survive.

“I am disturbed by the inequality in Singapore,” Dr Koh wrote in an opinion piece in The Straits Times on Jan 3.

“We have one of the highest Gini coefficients in the world. I am unhappy that many of our children are growing up in poverty. About a third of our students go to school with no pocket money to buy lunch.”

Indeed, the poverty rate in Singapore has been estimated to be as high as 30 percent. National University of Singapore economist Tilak Abeysinghe has also calculated that 30 percent of Singaporeans cannot earn enough and have to spend 105 percent to 151 percent of their incomes.

“As a trustee of two education trusts, I am reminded each year of the large number of needy students in our schools and tertiary institutions. I was shocked when the president of one of our universities told us recently that 60 per cent of his students need financial assistance,” Dr Koh also said.

Indeed, a Straits Times survey had shown that two-thirds of middle-income households in Singapore are able to earn enough only to spend on basic necessities and nothing else.

“At the other end of the spectrum, I am worried about the growing number of the elderly poor. Many of them are in poor health and have inadequate savings. Many of them live in loneliness, having no family or been abandoned by family and relatives,” he said.

It is indeed the case that over the past few years, there have been a growing number of stories of how older Singaporeans have chosen to die because they cannot afford their medical fees.

What Dr Koh say is not new but it is the first admission from someone who is close to the establishment to have detailed these facts.

Today, Singapore has risen to become the most expensive country and city in the world.

But Singaporeans still continue to earn one of the lowest wages among the developed countries in the world. In fact, there is still no minimum wage in Singapore – one of only 10 percent of countries in the world not to have one.

In 2012, Dr Koh also wrote in an article comparing the GDP per capita of Singapore with the Nordic countries. Singapore’s GDP per capita was on par with the Nordic countries, but wages are drastically different.

Dr Koh revealed that cleaners in Singapore would only earn $800 when cleaners in the Nordic countries would earn between $2,085 to $5,502, or several times more.

However, because Singaporeans also have to pay for the highest cost of living in the world, this has also meant that Singaporeans have the lowest purchasing power among the developed countries.

Dr Koh had then also written, “The truth is that we pay these workers such low wages not primarily because their productivity is inherently low, but largely because they are competing against an unlimited supply of cheap foreign workers.

“The solution is for the State to reduce the supply of cheap foreign workers or introduce a minimum wage or to target specific industries, such as the hospitality industry, for wage enhancement.”

It is debatable whether the government has done so. The government has said that the basic wages of cleaners will be increased to $1,000 every month and for security guards, this will be increased to $1,100 but the new base salary will only take effect in 2016 for the latter.

However, critics argue that $1,000 or $1,100 is still insufficient when Singaporeans have estimated that a minimum wage of $1,700 or more would be necessary to have the most basic of living in Singapore.

Source: www.therealsingapore.com

January 5, 2015
‘Ketuanan Melayu’ As It Is Practiced In Malaysian Politics

At UMNO’S recent general assembly, the trope of “Ketuanan Melayu” rang loud and clear yet again through the halls of the Putra World Trade Centre, drowning out Prime Minister Najib Razak’s “1Malaysia” in the same way that it drowned out Mr Abdullah Badawi’s “Islam Hadhari” not too long ago, and Tun Mahathir Mohamad’s “Bangsa Malaysia” before that.

What exactly does Ketuanan Melayu mean? Furthermore, what does it imply?

At first glance, the meaning of Ketuanan Melayu, in the Malaysian cultural and historical context, is innocent enough. According to school textbooks, Ketuanan Melayu is defined as “the passion for anything related to the Malay race, such as political rights, language, cultural heritage and customs, as well as homeland”.

Much in the same vein, the influential Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Institute for Language and Literature) defines it as the right to rule or control a country (negara), state (negeri), or a district (daerah) on the basis of the principle of sovereignty (kedaulatan).

Its root word, tuan, in this context means “lord” or “master” (in relation to a servant) or “owner” (in relation to property).

Hence, literally, Ketuanan Melayu means Malay sovereignty, or the lordship claim of the Malays on the tanah Melayu – the land belonging to the Malays and everything in/on it.

Underlying this logic is the romanticism of Malay heritage: The Malay Peninsula (Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) is regarded as the ancestral land of the Malays.

As Dr Mahathir himself once wrote in The Malay Dilemma: “The Malays are the original or indigenous people of Malaya and the only people who can claim Malaya as their one and only country. In accordance with practice all over the world, this confers on the Malays certain inalienable rights over the forms and obligations of citizenship which can be imposed on citizens of non-indigenous origin.”

It is important to also stress that while the term “Ketuanan Melayu” itself does not appear in the Constitution, its underlying logic of according special rights to Malay interests is, in fact, constitutionally sanctioned.

According to the Federal Constitution of 1957, while non-Malays were granted citizenship rights, Article 153 decrees that it is the responsibility of the king (Yang di Pertuan Agong) to safeguard the special position of the Malays and bumiputera (indigenous communities) while also taking into account the “legitimate interests” of other communities.

In this way, the “special position” of the Malays and bumiputera are codified. It is by this token too, that Ketuanan Melayu and the sovereignty of the sultans become intertwined.

In fact, such is the sanctity of the sovereign in the constellation of Malaysian politics, the country has nine sitting kings at any one time.

All this is to say that Malay culture lies at the centre of Malaysian national culture, and it is the traditions (including the pomp and pageantry) of the traditional Islamic-Malay polity that shape the nature of governance and government in Malaysia today.

Politics and myth-making

Notwithstanding its rich cultural and historical legacy, a critical feature of contemporary discourse on Ketuanan Melayu is how the concept has been used to frame the relationship between Muslim Malays and non-Malay citizens of Malaysia.

The currency of the narrative of Ketuanan Melayu lies not only in its stress on the rights of denizens or the essence of Malay statecraft, but also its portrayal of non-Malays.

Indeed, notwithstanding its seemingly innocuous role in outlining the markers of Melayu (Malay) identity, the etymology of the discourse has come to set more store by its definition in relation to Malaysia’s other ethnic communities: It implies that Malays are self-referenced as “tuan” or “lords” and “masters” over other identities.

More to the point, the rhetoric of Ketuanan Melayu espoused by Umno today, but also echoed in Malaysian textbooks, often casts non-Malays in a pejorative light and questions their citizenship, ergo, loyalty.

Non-Malays are frequently described in Malay books as anak dagang, golongan pendatang, pendatang asing, or imigran, implying that they are sojourners with no loyalty to the land, foreigners, aliens, or immigrants as opposed to penduduk tempatan, or local inhabitants.

For non-Malay Malaysians, the implications that follow are self-evident.

Their position in relation to Malay rights whenever the issue of citizenship of non-Malays is discussed (if not questioned), as it unfortunately still is 57 years after independence, is delegitimised.

Ketuanan Melayu then, becomes a narrative of special birthright and ethnic primacy – if not supremacy – that in the view of non-Malays, strikes at the very heart of attempts to envision a civic and pluralist conception of nationhood.

Yet, amid the controversy that the usage of “Ketuanan Melayu” stirs up today in Malaysian discourses on identity and belonging, there is one mistaken assumption – that the essence of “Melayu”, or Malayness, is immutable. Perhaps, in a future piece, I will elaborate why this is not quite so.

Communal identity has long been a fundamental organising principle of Malaysian politics and society. At the heart of the matter is how national identity in Malaysia is constructed around one ethnic and religious group, the Malay-Muslims.

It is this optic through which Ketuanan Melayu must be viewed. Indeed, considering that the term itself does not even appear in the Federal Constitution, its emergence as, arguably, the most important and controversial concept in the Malaysian political lexicon is certainly remarkable.

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The writer, Joseph Chinyong Liow, is dean and professor of comparative and international politics at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, and Lee Kuan Yew Chair in South-east Asia Studies at Brookings Institution.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

January 5, 2015