KUALA LUMPUR – At the heart of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) fiasco is the attitude of the Selangor government towards its stakeholders.
The Pakatan Harapan exco defied objections from the opposition, its own backbenchers, rights activists, and Orang Asli, as it degazetted 536.7ha and awarded a shell company the rights to develop that tract into a mixed commercial property project.
The manner in which Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari’s government went about excising the land – part of an 8,000-year-old forest consisting mostly of peatland swamp – raises pressing questions that are left unanswered.
From shell to shell
When the KLNFR issue blew up last year, it was because Amirudin announced then that 931.17ha of the forest would be developed by Menteri Besar Incorporated, the state investment vehicle, and Titian Jutaria Sdn Bhd.
Now dissolved, Titian Jutaria was controlled by the Selangor royal house and had, as directors, Raja Muda Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Syed Budriz Putra Jamalullail, the son and nephew, respectively, of Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Syed Budriz and Sultan Sharafuddin were 60:40 shareholders of the company, which was established on December 12, 2018, with a paid-up capital of RM100,000.
This time round, the state awarded land, albeit a smaller plot, to Gabungan Indah Sdn Bhd.
Incorporated on November 2 last year with RM1 paid-up capital, Gabungan Indah’s nature of business is that of a holding company, which includes, among others, “buying, selling, renting and operating of self-owned or leased real estate-residential buildings”, according to company filings.
The company’s sole director is Mohd Fadil Muskon, a former Johor Umno Youth chief, while its sole owner is Vibrantscape Sdn Bhd, which, in turn, is held by Perdana Parkcity Sdn Bhd, the developer of Desa ParkCity here.
Perdana Parkcity’s sole director is Datuk Joseph Lau, while shareholders are Parkcity Property Holdings Sdn Bhd, Samling Strategic Corporation Sdn Bhd, and Yaw Chee Siew, meaning that the ultimate shareholder is the Sarawak-based Yaw clan, which built its empire on logging.
That cosmetic motion
Following outcry that KLNFR would be commercialised, Titian Jutaria was then dissolved and the issue seemingly died down, following thousands signing protest petitions and extensive media coverage.
Two important events occurred last November.
First, the state assembly voted unanimously to abandon the degazettement of KLNFR following a relevant motion by Najwan Halimi (Kota Anggerik-PKR) on November 11.
Second, Gabungan Indah was incorporated a week earlier.
While we don’t know the reasons for the setting up of Gabungan Indah – a shell company can serve many purposes – assuming that it is a special purpose vehicle, private players always understood that there was an opportunity amid the degazettement storm.
This means that the entire unanimous November vote was merely cosmetic.
Tourism, environment, and green technology exco Hee Loy Sian (Kajang-PKR) said during last week’s state assembly sitting that the motion was non-binding as “a private member’s motion guides us. It does not bind the executive council. The council can make its own decisions”.
Bent on developing KLNFR
Following the exco’s unanimous decision last week to degazette the land, the fact is that the state government wants to develop that tract of land.
Amirudin may have told the PKR political bureau on Wednesday that his government would postpone the decision – and PKR interestingly bought that explanation, saying it was “satisfied” – but that remains ambiguous at best as the excision was completed on August 12.
Muddling things further is why the state government entertained Gabungan Indah’s proposal. Granted, the state does not need to go through an open tender before alienating land to developers, but can merely entertain proposals and deliberate them during the state cabinet meetings.
What was in there that convinced the exco that such a move by a shell company would be beneficial to all stakeholders? Are the state’s coffers depleting?
Selangor is among the top three states in the country with the highest number of unsold properties. It is officially experiencing an overhang.
The defence by Hee that the development will meet future property needs and that potential residents would benefit from the East Coast Rail Link does not hold water either, as there are other tracts around Selangor to develop for such purposes.
In fact, we don’t know how much of a premium Gabungan Indah would need to fork out as a result of the alienation of the land. During the MBI-Titian Jutaria proposal, the figure quoted was RM323.77 million.
These questions need to be answered and details need to be divulged, especially over Gabungan Indah.
Until then, some 2,000 Temuan, who live in several villages on the fringes of KLNFR, will be affected by the degazettement. They include residents of Kg Orang Asli Busut Baru, Kg Pulau Kempas, Kg Bukit Cheeding, and Kg Bukit Kemandol.
So will several endangered species, including flora such as the meranti bunga and meranti bakau, and animals such as the Malayan sun bear, panther, and clouded leopard as well as endemic species such as the Selangor pygmy flying squirrel and the Langat red fighting fish. – The Vibes, September 6, 2021
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