RM140b Bandar Malaysia project a rotten deal for the gov't

QUESTION TIME | There are two reasons why the Bandar Malaysia deal signed on Dec 17 should have been scrapped - one, the price at which the land was transferred to the consortium was way too low and, two, the government is likely to forego a huge amount in development profits which it could have kept for itself.

This rotten deal, which will eventually cost more than 1MDB’s losses of a minimum RM30 billion, is an example of continued patronage politics in Harapan bordering on or even involving corruption. It includes a businessman who eventually bought over the prime minister’s bread business, indicating serious conflicts of interest besides, and the needless involvement of a China company. More on that later.

In his speech at the signing of the deal Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng laid the credit (if you can call it that) squarely on the PM. “The revival of the Bandar Malaysia project is due largely to the efforts of YAB Prime Minister. In April this year, YAB Prime Minister was in China to lead and witness the signing of the Framework Agreement on 25th April 2019 which revived this project.”

Not satisfied with that, he went on to say, “Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC - a China state company) as a consortium won the tender to develop Bandar Malaysia back in 2015.

"With an area of 486 acres, it is the single largest development plot within the city of Kuala Lumpur...