Abad Naluri chairman quits; game over for Patrick

 Accountability, Development issues, Environment, Malaysian finance/business, People's Park/PGCC  23 Responses »
Apr 102008
 

Just heard from a reliable source that Dato Sri Kamal Hashim, the chairman of Abad Naluri, has resigned from his position with immediate effect. Kamal Hashim is presently the northern region director of The Star, which gave the launch of the PGCC by the prime minister last year prominent coverage. It is also believed that the Prime Minister and his family are now distancing themselves from Patrick Lim, whose dealings exposed the BN to stinging criticism in the run-up to the general election – from opposition parties as well as from Mahathir. Abad Naluri is the developer of the controversial PGCC project and was supposed to sign an agreement to buy and develop 300 acres of land in Batu Kawan as a replacement race-course for the Penang Turf Club. These deals have been shrouded in controversy, and it is widely believed that powerful vested interests were the driving force behind [Read more]

Patrick Lim and Penang Turf Club: The plot thickens

 Accountability, Democracy, Development issues, Environment, Malaysian finance/business, People's Park/PGCC  18 Responses »
Apr 082008
 
Patrick Lim and Penang Turf Club: The plot thickens

So the Penang Turf Club held its AGM yesterday, and I gather a lot of questions were raised. But so far I haven’t seen any public comments made by Turf Club officials. A reliable source told me that the original agreement between the Penang Turf Club and Abad Naluri has actually lapsed as Patrick Lim had failed to deliver the replacement race-course in Batu Kawan as scheduled. Apparently, a supplementary agreement was entered into earlier this month to allow for an extension of three years so that it now ends in 2011. (The report below indicates that the deadline is now 2011.) And there is no clause in this supplementary agreement pertaining to an extension, which means it can be extended again in 2011. If there was indeed an extension, on what basis did the outgoing committee negotiate an extension? All Patrick Lim’s Abad Naluri has done is pay RM10 [Read more]

Patrick Lim’s horses of card come tumbling down

 Development issues, M'sian politics, Malaysian finance/business, People's Park/PGCC  24 Responses »
Apr 022008
 
Patrick Lim's horses of card come tumbling down

The Dream: Abad Naluri’s “cardboard horses” in Batu Kawan It all seems to be going wrong for Patrick Lim. And not just on the East Coast. First, his RM25 billion Penang Global City Centre project has all but been killed off as a result of a concerted campaign by Penang civil society groups to save the Turf Club land on the island. Then, the Penang state government fell to opposition hands with even the Chief Minister soundly defeated. (The last time someone tried to muck around with a treasured landmark in Penang was in the late 1980s, when Vincent Tan’s Berjaya was eyeing Penang Hill. Civil society groups rose up in arms and mobilised the Penang people to oppose the greedy development. Perhaps that contributed to then chief minister Lim Chong Eu’s stunning defeat – and a setback for the Penang BN – in the 1990 general election. Some people [Read more]

Questionable land deals give Guan Eng huge headache

 Democracy, Development issues, Environment, M'sian politics, Malaysian finance/business, People's Park/PGCC  40 Responses »
Mar 222008
 
Questionable land deals give Guan Eng huge headache

Lin Lee presents the PGCC Campaign Group’s concerns as Guan Eng, Jeff Ooi and Liew Chin Tong listen It has been over a week since Lim Guan Eng was sworn in as Penang Chief Minister, but already he is discovering some of the serious challenges facing the new Penang state government. He faces a daunting task. Planning approvals for major development projects in the past have been haphazard at best and irresponsible, dubious and shady at worst. The PGCC Campaign Group met Guan Eng this afternoon in the Bilik Gerakan (someone quipped that it should be renamed “Bilik DAP”) of the Chief Minister’s office in Komtar. After driving the final nails into the PGCC coffin, the activists from Penang’s main civil society groups said they would come up with a detailed proposal to turn the Turf Club land into a People’s Park within the next couple of months. Guan Eng [Read more]

“Business-friendly” or people-friendly state govts?

 M'sian politics, Malaysian elections, Malaysian finance/business, Neo-liberal economics, People's Park/PGCC  6 Responses »
Mar 132008
 
"Business-friendly" or people-friendly state govts?

There’s been a lot of reaction over the selection of the Perak Mentri Besar, which has gone to a Pas candidate. Kit Siang should not have asked his DAP state assembly members to boycott the swearing in. After all, there was an agreement among the DAP, PKR and Pas at the state level that they would respect the Perak Sultan’s choice. And if party leaders believe in democracy, then they should understand their roles in the party. Lim, is just an adviser to the party, though he played a significant role in contributing to the Opposition’s good showing. It should be borne in mind that many Malaysians voted across ethnic and religious lines. By asking DAP assembly members to stay away, how different is that from the BN assembly members staying from Guan Eng’s swearing in ceremony in Penang? Really, Kit Siang should respect the wishes of a large number [Read more]

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