“Is the Najib administration so desperate to showcase the ‘success’ of ETP that it has now taken to announcing multi-billion ringgit worth of projects which are nothing more than hot air as at this point of time?” asked Tony Pua.
Upon closer scrutiny of the projects announced, the Petaling Jaya Utara MP said, it became clear that the numbers quoted provided a skewed and misleading picture of ETP developments.
“Firstly, of the 12 ‘entry-point projects’ (EPPs) in this update, five have been previously announced making them a repetition of projects which have already been disclosed.
“Secondly, of the RM11.2 billion worth of projects announced, the Karambunai Integrated Resort City project alone constituted RM9.6 billion or a whopping 86% of all the value of the projects added together,” he said in a statement.
Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, Pua said, the value for the Karambunai project appeared to be “plucked from thin air” for it seemed as if nothing had yet been finalised which would justify any announcement to the public.
The Karambunai resort project was led by gaming tycoon Chen Lip Leong’s group of companies on a 1,100ha piece of land, owned by Karambunai Corp Bhd and Petaling Tin Berhad. Chen has substantial shareholdings in both these companies, and is the president of both.
Pua said as if on cue after Najib made his ETP announcement, Petaling Tin Bhd announced on Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it “has not signed any agreement with any parties pertaining to the resort project and there are no corporate developments that warrant future disclosures to the stock exchange at this juncture.”
In other words, he surmised, Najib’s boast of the RM11.16 billion EPP projects was nothing more than a “trial balloon inflated with hot air.”
The DAP leader noted that even some of the smaller EPPs failed the scrutiny test, such as the RM50 million “1Malaysia email project”, where it now appeared that the company awarded the project, Tricubes Bhd, was not only loss making as at this point of time, but was at risk of being delisted from the ACE market after being issued a GN3 status by Bursa Malaysia.
“The project awarded by the government aims to provide an email account to all Malaysians above the age of 18 is supposed to be privately financed. However, the company which is facing serious financial difficulty has not disclosed how it will even be able to finance the project on its own.
“It is disappointing that the prime minister, in an attempt to make his administration and the ETP look good to the man-on-the-street, has chosen to boast of projects with dubious economic value, like the ’1Malaysia email project’ as well as incorporating huge projects with their multi-billion ringgit valuations being plucked out from thin air,” he said.
“Malaysians want to see real success and real tangible benefits from government policies and projects, and not just listen empty pronouncements made to make the Barisan Nasional government look good,” he added.
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