The American Dream is the belief that hard work can lead to a better life, usually through the earnings of money.AT that point in time, news had broken out that the "honourable" Port Klang State Assemblyman had paid RM180K for a 43,000 sq ft of land.
The Malaysian Dream is the belief that if you join the correct party, "perjuang"ing the "correct" "hak" and being elected even to the minor-est post can lead to a better life.
Don't believe me? Look at your State Assemblyman. Look at your MP. Look at your local municipal.
This works out to RM4.186/sf. NST states that the current market value of the 43,000 sq ft property is about RM1.3 million based on the lower end of the going rate for land in the area of between RM30 and RM40.
Today, we read of another land scandal, also in Port Klang. Thanks to investigative reporting from the Singapore Straits Times (by way of RPK), Malaysiakini and The Sun Malaysia, we learn that
The land from the project belonged to Kuala Dimensi, whose current chairman is Umno treasurer Datuk Azim Zabidi. The company acquired the land in the 1990s for RM96 million, or roughly RM3 per sq ft.
When the Port Klang Authority proposed to buy the land from Kuala Dimensi, documents reviewed by The Straits Times (Singapore, not the Malaysia New Straits Times) show that the government body was advised to forcibly purchase the land under the country's Land Acquisition Act, which meant that the property would have been valued at around RM10 per sq ft.
But the Port Klang Authority ignored the advice from the government's chief legal adviser and proceeded to buy the land from Kuala Dimensi in 2002 on a commercial basis, for RM1 billion, or roughly RM25 per sq ft, government documents show.
Yup! The Malaysian Dream is at work.
You pay RM3/sf for a piece of land from the state, and you get the federal government to pay you RM25/sf for it, in spite of the land being valued at RM10/sf
Show Lulu this Malaysian dream, and Lulu will show you the Rakyat's nightmare.
I hope the Sultan of Selangor would take a stern stand against these people who have enriched themselves at the state's expense, and totally blew the whole project into bail-out status.
At the rate we're going, Lulu thinks we probably make it into the Guiness Book of Records [the real one. not the "longest ketupat line" or "most mat rempits in one padang" local edition]
Most Bailout From A Single Nation
Most AMount of Money Spent in Bailout from A Nation
Highest Failure Rate of Government Initiated Projects,
and of course,
Most Number of Millionaires Made in A BailOut
For further reading
HIDUP MALAYSIA TANAH AIR KU!