Posted: 13 Jan 2014 12:21 AM PST

How Taib Family Built Huge Housing Wealth In The Name Of Kuching's Poor

This post is also available in: Iban, Malay

1/2 million ringgit price tags on CMS built homes in Bandar Samariang

The Taib family company CMS proudly boasts of its "vast land bank" in its annual reports and has started selling off chunks for tens of millions in Kuching.

Commercial centres and grand housing estates are also being developed in two key areas, Bandar Samariang, where CMS has 5,200 acres, valued around half a billion ringgit, and of course on the Kuching Isthmus, where land is even more expensive.

But, how did CMS acquire all this property and who has benefitted?

Sarawak Report has acquired shocking information about the way Taib and his family members have profited from this land, which was forcibly taken (official term is 'alienated') from local people and state ownership.

We did it to help the poor

The story that the Chief Minister told from the start was that this was land that difficult and expensive to develop, but that his family company was kindly determined to provide housing for poor people.

Back in 2001, he even made out that CMS was doing this supposed favour in Bandar Samariang entirely "for the people's benefit" for "not much profit", because other developers didn't want to get involved in such a loss-making venture!

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud denied yesterday that the development projects implemented in the state had benefited him personally as alleged by some quarters. Stressing that the projects were for the people's benefit, he urged them to think rationally all allegations of nepotism and cronyism which were levelled at him before making any conclusion….he cited as an example the low-cost housing project in Rampangi, Semariang of which he was accused of benefiting personally. Taib.. said the project did not bring much profit to the developer Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd due to the peat soil condition. Not many companies wanted to invest in the project because of the high cost involved to prepare the site for the project, he said. But in the interest of the people, the project had to be carried out to provide housing to the low income group, he said. "We do not want them to remain without houses and live far away from the city. That's why we continued with the project," he said.[Bernama Sunday, April 08, 2001]

Such a kind old fellow!

Chief Executive and key shareholder at the time, Taib brother Onn Mahmud

Interestingly no mention has ever been made again of these poor soil conditions by CMS. This is probably, not least, because in every other country in the world, developing tropical peat soil has been banned, because of the severe environmental consequences.

To gain a sense of the value of this land handed to CMS in the guise of helping the poor, consider the recent news that the company has decided to sell on a parcel of 500 acres for over RM45million to Sentoria Group to build a theme park.

Suddenly, another developer has been found willing not only to take on the job of developing the land, but to pay big money for the plot.

However, this time of course the money has gone to CMS, not the government or the people from whom the area was 'alienated'.

At the time CMS got this land for free it was largely owned and run by Taib's brother Onn Mahmud, who shortly after passed on his shares to Taib's wife, with the remainder being largely in the hands of the Chief Minister's four children.

No nepotism at all then!

Sucking money out of pensions too

Robert Geneid, the Head of CMS Property Development and husband of Taib's sister Raziah Mahmud.

But, of course, the Taibs didn't really want to invest their own money in this mission to assist the poor with 'quality low cost housing'.

Far better to use their influence to encourage the government controlled Employee Provident Fund (EPF) to put in the money instead.

After all, this fat milk cow has been used to pour vast sums of money into endless pet projects to benefit BN politicians, meaning public employees can look forward to far lower pensions, despite being forced to pay a quarter of their salaries into the obligatory savings fund controlled by the government.

EPF therefore was dragged into a joint venture with CMS and the investment in the "low cost housing" in Bandar Samariang began.

But, in fact, low cost housing was only ever planned to form a small part of the project from the very start. The original terms of agreement, as explained in CMS's own annual reports, made clear just 1/3 of the area was to be housing for the less well-off.

Housing for the poor?

The rest of the huge site was to be developed as an ambitious commercial enterprise.

CMS's 1997 Annual Report was certainly not bashful about the profit-driven nature of CMS's latest housing project or the ambitions of its new Property Development Division, headed by the new husband of Taib's sister Raziah, the Lebanese Australian, Robert Geneid.

It also reveals that, thanks to Taib's ability to pull the strings, that the State Housing & Development Commission had already been tasked with buying whatever 'quality low cost housing' CMS Property produced on the site, ensuring a guaranteed profit.

1997 Annual Report

Property Development

"This is a new growth area for the Group, and CMS Properties Sdn Bhd has been set up to develop and manage the Group's vast land bank, with the long-term objective of becoming Sarawak's principal property developer and a major player throughout Malaysia and the ASEAN region. The Group's strategy is based on using the natural synergy between the infrastructure, finance and property divisions….

Bandar Baru Samariang is a joint venture with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and will be the largest low-cost housing project ever undertaken in Sarawak, and the first housing development project undertaken by the Group.

The 13,500 low cost houses (approximately 36 percent of the project) will be sold to the Housing & Development Commission……The remaining 64 percent of the project will comprise medium-cost homes, commercial centres and ancillary buildings, providing a total of 42,200 housing units on the vast 5,200 acre site just 15 km from Kuching. Phase 1 of the township is currently being implemented, to provide over 4,000 units of low-cost housing, as well as hundreds of other residential and commercial properties."[Ann Rpt 1997]

So, in fact, a mere 4,000 units of the token low cost housing have been included in the first phase of the project, all promoted in the beginning in a blaze of positive publicity, before CMS moved speedily to the much more lucrative "medium cost" housing, where units are currently being sold for the very fancy prices of anything up to half a million ringgit!

Bandar Samariang Phase I Plan

Phase 1 – including 4,000 low cost housing units guaranteed to be purchased by the Housing Committee

Of course, the fact that the state has ploughed in major infrastructure, in terms of roads and amenities into the area, has made the development potential of this project ever more lucrative. Yet, the Chief Minister is still justifying his handing of it all to his family in the name of charity for Kuching's poor!

Presiding over his family's vast profitable land venture.

However, this mother of all land grabs from the Sarawak people is just the start of the story of how the Taib family set about enriching themselves from this project.

In 'Phase 2′ of our investigation we will be looking at how individual members of the Taib inner family circle, set about using the massive housing project to develop profitable businesses for themselves, with disastrous consequences for the very poor people in whose name the Bandar Samariang land grab was executed.

"The new township boasts a myriad of vibrant features such as improved road connectivity between central and South Kuching" Borneo Post

1 mudah.com | <b>rumah sewa di kuching</b> - Come Sarawak - Blogger

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 11:41 PM PST

Beberapa hari lepas, Zam sibuk mencari hotel-hotel budget disekitar bandaraya Kuching atas permintaan pelanggan Zamtransportation. Ada diantara hotel yang menawarkan rate RM50 sehari tetapi Zam masih tidak berpuashati dari segi keselesaan dan keselamatan yang diberikan. Tak sampai hati pulak nak rekomen yang macam tu kat customer. Nak upload gambar dalam blog ni pun rasa Zam serba salah.

Kesimpulannya, rata-rata hotel yang selesa dibandaraya Kuching menawarkan rate sekitar RM100 keatas.

Namun terdapat sebuah rumah kedai yang menyewakan bilik-bilik sewa serendah RM37 sehari dipusat bandaraya. Bilik Sewa Ezul terletak di Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaizi Adruce berdekatan Satok bersebelahan dengan Palm Hotel.

Mula-mula sampai kat area tu memang tak nampak sebarang Papan Tanda bilik sewa, hanya terdapat poster-poster yang ditampal di tepi dinding bangunan dan di anak tangga naik ke rumah kedai.

Bilik-bilik tersebut boleh disewa secara harian, mingguan dan bulanan. Room Rate serendah RM27 sehari untuk kipas dan RM37 sehari untuk aircon ini hanya boleh muat 2 orang sahaja. Sesuailah sangat-sangat kepada mereka yang bercuti dengan kos budget.

Terdapat 7 bilik aircon dan 3 bilik kipas yang boleh disewa. Dilengkapi TV bewarna dan bilik mandi masing-masing.

Kepada sesiapa yang berminat, sila hubungi;

Mohd Faizul : 010-9712089

atau secara terus melalui saya Zamtransportation: 016-8620967

Terima kasih.

<b>Rumah Sewa Di Kuching</b> - Come Sarawak - Come Sarawak

Posted: 17 Nov 2013 11:30 PM PST

Mc ada terbaca di blog Sangkakala bahawa kerajaan negeri Selangor mengenakan kenaikkan sewa rumah PPR hampir 100%. Kita semua sedia maklum bahawa rumah PPR untuk mereka yang berpendapatan rendah saja. Kalau naik sewa macam tu, pasti ianya menyusahkan rakyat.

http://sangkakalajari9.blogspot.com/2013/11/bukti-kerajaan-selangor-cuba-menipu.html

Kerajaan Selangor melalui syarikat yang diberikan kuasa untuk menjalankan kutipan sewa kepada penyewa PPR nampak gayanya cuba menipu mereka untuk menaikkan harga sewa kediaman mereka dari RM 124 kepada RM 250 sebulan.

Daripada surat pekeliling yang diedarkan kepada penduduk atau penyewa yang membayar sewa sebanyak RM 124 jelas kerajaan negeri sudah mula menggula gulakan mereka dengan pemberian khairat kematian kononnya.

Syarikta perumahan dan hartanah Selangor SDN BHD telah mengeluarkan sirat seperti diatas dan kononnya jika mereka tidak bersetuju dengan kenaikan tersebut maka nama mereka akan dipamerkan di blok masing masing untuk dibuat semakan dan mendapat persetujuan daripada penduduk atau penyewa lain sama ada mereka layak atau tidak untuk membuat bayaran sebanyak RM 124.

Apa yang Sangkakala maksudkan sebagai gula gula ialah, mereka dikatakan akan dilindungi oleh khairat kematian yang mana jika penama meninggal dunia, maka mereka layak untuk membuat tuntutan sebanyak RM 1000, pasangan RM 500 dan anak anak juga sebanyak RM 500.

Persoalannya disini, adakah mereka yang membayar sewa sebanyak RM 124 ini benar benar berkemampuan?

Ada di kalangan mereka ini sudah berumur melebihi dari 60 tahun dan mereka ini adalah dikalangan warga emas.

Kerajaan Selangor jangan la cuba nak tipu orang ramai khususnya mereka yang menyewa di PPR ini seolah olah mereka terlalu bodoh hingga tak mampu untuk berfikir dengan waras.

Jika selama ini mereka membayar sewa sebanyak RM 124 sebulan atas dasar apa ianya hendak dinaikkan?

Lagi satu soalan Sangkakala, bukankah EXCO Perumahan Selangor telah mengatakan bahawa tidak ada kenaikan terhadap penyewa penyewa ini dan adakah dengan cara sebegini membolehkan kerajaan Selangor menaikkan sewa secara paksa tanpa disedari?

Sangkakala mengandaikan bahawa mereka ini cuba dianiaya oleh kerajaan Selangor melalui anak syarikat kerajaan Selangor sendiri kerana, jika nama mereka diletakkan di blok masing masing, adakah mereka yang membayar sewa sebanyak RM 250 akan bersetuju dengan kadar bayaran yang diterima oleh mereka yang membayar sewa sebanyak RM 124 selama ini?

Itu juga sebab kenapa Sangkakala mengatakan bahawa kerajaan Selangor cuba untuk memaksa mereka membayar sewa sebanyak RM 250 dan alasan yang akan diberikan oleh kerajaan negeri nanti sudah pasti penduduk lain tidak bersetuju dan mereka ini akan terus diminta untuk membayar sewa sebanyak RM 250.

Sangkakala difahamkan bahawa mereka yang dipindahkan daripada setinggan di sekitar Selangor diminta untuk membuat bayaran sebanyak RM 124 dan bagi mereka yang membuat permohonan untuk menyewa maka mereka ini perlulah membayar sewa dengan kadar RM 250 sebulan.

Dan kini mereka yang membayar sewa dengan kadar RM 124 dipaksa secara profesional oleh kerajaan negeri yang kononnya akan bertanya kepada penduduk lain dan jawapan yang sudah pastiakan diberikan nanti ialah mereka yang membayar sewa ini dikatakan tidak layak untuk mengekalkan sewa mereka dan sewa mereka akan dinaikkan dari RM 124 kepada Rm 250 sebulan.

Adakah ini keadilan dan kebajikan kepada rakyat yang diwar warkan oleh kerajaan Selangor dan dari pengamatan Sangkakala, mereka ini majoritinya adalah dari kalangan orang Melayu dan dimana lafaz sumpah Menteri Besar dihadapan DYMM Sultan Selangor bahawa beliau akan menjaga kebajikan orang Melayu dan agama Islam?

Penipuan demi penipuan dilakukan kepada rakyat Selangor oleh kerajaan negeri cuma ianya terselindung atau secara terang terangan.

<b><b>Rumah Sewa Di Kuching</b></b></b></b></b> - Come Sarawak

<b><b>Rumah Sewa Di Kuching</b></b></b></b></b> - Come Sarawak

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