anilnetto.com

Greed inflates property bubble

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10 Oct 2010

Greedy speculators, developers and even valuers, facilitated by easy credit from financial institutions, are inflating a property bubble. But the state is reluctant to intervene effectively, erroneously leaving it to market forces to find an equilibrium.

But there is no equilibrium nor sanity in the market. Property prices are getting ridiculous.

Don’t take my word for it. Some choice comments from national House-buyers Association honorary vice-president Goh Seng Toh as reported in The Star:

“Prices of houses, like everything else, will go up at reasonable inflationary trends, but it should not be at the rate we are experiencing now.

“Greed and the market are driving up the prices. For every piece of land, developers want to maximise profits, and there is no social responsibility.”… (Sorry, Goh, social responsibility is something they don’t understand.)

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Disaster as debris clogs Rajang River

Anil Netto

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9 Oct 2010

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No, this is not the Yangtze River or the clogged Three Gorges Dam. It’s our very own Rajang River near Sibu in Sarawak.

Well done, Taib Mahmud. Well done, corporate boys.

Act of God? I don’t think so. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the cause of this disaster: land clearing, logging and heavy rain especially in the Balleh and Balui river basins. The result: massive flooding, erosion of river banks and landslides that churned out driftwood and logs. Who issued the logging licences and allowed the land to be cleared? Who do you think?

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Penang Turf Club: After PGCC, this…

Anil Netto

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8 Oct 2010

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Reports have surfaced that the Penang Turf Club has called for bids to buy or develop 23ha of its 104ha plot of land.

The Edge reported that E & O Bhd said it had submitted a bid. The NST said speculation has it the call had attracted proposals from major developers such as E & O, SP Setia Bhd, IJM Land Bhd and Mah Sing Group Bhd.

Last October, another report said the Turf Club was going ahead with a RM30 million project to build 25 bungalows which it hoped would generate close to RM2 million annually in rental income. The bungalows were to be built on 5.6 acres of land on the fringe of the racecourse close to Jesselton.

The latest news about the 23ha suggests that the Turf Club is increasing looking at property development. Over the years, horse-racing has been losing its appeal as a spectator sport. More young adults have been drawn to Premier League football; so it wasn’t surprising when Berjaya tried to capitalise on that by trying to kick off sports betting.

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Drama at Kg Sg Terentang, Rawang

Energy resources

Anil Netto

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7 Oct 2010

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Update (8 Oct): The three arrested, Wan Han Ming and Rawang Adun Gan Pei Nei special assistants, Alex Gan and Kumaranm, spent the night in police custody and were brought to court today. Police were granted a further one day remand.

Update: Selayang Municipal Council officers arrived and ordered the work to be stopped as they said it violated council bylaws. TNB reportedly complied but it had already done some piling and erected a barbed wire barricade by then.

1505: TNB contractors are disregarding a Selangor state government order and going ahead with the construction of a structure. “This land is state land,” insists a furious Selangor exco member Elizabeth Wong, when contacted.

“Real corporate bullies. Refused to acknowledge local council stop work order, kata see you in court some more.”

Kg Sg Terentang — Defiant contractors putting up a structure at 3.00pm

This is an apparent breach of an earlier agreement to postpone work until the Selangor government could reach a settlement with TNB regarding alternative routes for high tension cables. But TNB argues that as the Federal Court had ruled in its favour, it had the right to begin construction work.

I ask Wong why the contractors are so adamant about building now.

“Ask (Energy Minister) Peter Chin,” she replies. “This is what happens when we are held ransom by (corporate) monopolies e.g. energy, water, waste, now sewage.”

Rawang Adun Gan Pei Nee at the scene with police in the background

1449: “Wahliao, xxx tried to knock me down with his car,” Wong exclaims.

1424: Tweets from Wong earlier:

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Latest episode in the Anwar saga

M'sian politics

Anil Netto

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7 Oct 2010

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1244: At a press conference, Latheefa Koya denies Rahimi’s allegations. She claims Rahimi voluntarily confessed to having met top government and government-linked personalities. Sivarasa Rasiah then explains that the content of Rahimi’s SD re meeting these personalities was exactly the same as his prior report to police. The lawyers are claiming that Rahimi’s latest SD may contradict his earlier statements to police (Tweets via NatAsasi).

Update: It looks as if it’s the silly tarik balik SD season again. Meanwhile, there will be a press conference at the PKR headquarters at noon today to respond to former Anwar aide Rahimi’s allegation that he was forced to sign his SD.

Yesterday:

Chatter on twitter indicates that another episode in an ongoing political drama could be emerging – just in time for the Galas by-election?

Gerakan and PKR

Anil Netto

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5 Oct 2010

38

Gerakan might as well close shop after 42 years of existence. Almost like Samy Vellu who has rejected the post of MIC adviser, former Gerakan president Lim Keng Yaik has quit as adviser. They are abandoning their sinking ships.

In reality, Gerakan lost its navigational bearings long before it struck an iceberg. Its idealistic multi-ethnic politics had long been subsumed under the racial politicking banner of the BN and Umno in particular. Self interest and jostling for the spoils of power and position assumed greater importance.

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Higher density for Penang projects?

Anil Netto

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5 Oct 2010

39

Alarm bells have started ringing over the premature talk of higher densities for property development on Penang Island.

Present-day coat of arms of the Municipal Coun... — Image via Wikipedia

Penang property developers must be grinning like Cheshire cats after reading a news report which said that the Penang Municipal Council has revised the plot ratio guidelines for high-rise properties in commercial and tourism areas on the island. This would allow the developers to build 122,000 sq ft per acre (i.e. up to 87 units) compared with 42,000 sq ft previously. See The Star report here. Notice also the low, low quota for medium-cost apartments. (How come no one talks about low-income housing?)

But hold your horses a sec.

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Problems plague Three Gorges Dam

Anil Netto

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3 Oct 2010

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Ecological deterioration, landslides, accumulation of algae, vast islands of floating debris, cracks in surrounding areas: serious problems have surfaced in China’s massive Three Gorges Dam.

One dam in the southern province of Guangdong was so badly damaged by floods and on the verge of collapse that authorities had to make plans to demolish it. See CRIENGLISH.com report here.

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