MALAYSIA TODAY SPECIAL REPORT ON THE NEP BY Raja Petra Kamarudin
December 18, 2005 (The Star) -- Works Minister Samy Vellu announced that the Cabinet has approved the RM2 billion construction of the Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) to be undertaken by Peninsular Metro-Works Sdn Bhd and that the concession agreement would be signed in early 2006.
March 18, 2006 (The Sun) -- The controversial RM1.02 billion Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) project will kick off in May, said Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu on Friday. He said the Cabinet approved it in December and the contract between the government and the concessionaire, Peninsular Metro-Works Sdn Bhd, would be signed next month. Construction can begin one month after the signing, he said.
April 8, 2006 (Bernama) -- Construction works on the Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) costing RM1.02 billion will start soon when the contracting company, Peninsular Metro-Works, has concluded talks with its bankers. Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the company had requested from the government to be given some time to start construction works on the PORR. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently said the PORR project would be implemented during the Ninth Malaysia Plan beginning this year.
The PORR concessionaire, Peninsular Metro-Works Sdn Bhd, would be given a 30-year toll concession, 31 ha of prime State land and 202 ha of reclaimed land off Gurney Drive, estimated to be worth some RM5 billion!
Yes, that is what PORR is worth, RM5 billion. And who are the ultimate owners or beneficiaries of PORR? Why, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of course. But his hand is hidden from public view and not many know he is the ultimate beneficiary to this RM5 billion concession -- that is not until Malaysia Today revealed his role in this whole thing.
Let us look at the very complicated shareholding structure of the companies involved in PORR which have been hidden under four layers of holdings and cross-holdings. Ultimately, Abdullah Badawi, though well-hidden from public view, is very much in the thick of things. If Anwar Ibrahim can be sent to jail for six years for merely having a conversation with a police officer, how many years do you think Abdullah should spend in jail?
Oh, by the way, there is no corruption involved here. What they are doing is merely meeting the aspirations of the New Economic Policy. Yeah, sure, and pigs can fly as well.
Yayasan Bumiputra Pulau Pinang Berhad (1) owns 100% of Kumpulan Pinang Holdings Sdn Bhd (2)
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Prime Minister) and Ibrahim Saad (ex-Penang Deputy Chief Minister) are Directors of Yayasan Bumiputra Pulau Pinang Berhad.
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