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Friday, July 18, 2014

Royal businesses - who is Daing A Malek?


SPECIAL REPORT Over the last four days, Malaysiakini has looked at three major reclamation projects in southern Johor with a combined area that will be almost the size of Putrajaya.

These are the Benalec Holdings reclamation sites in Pengarang and Tanjung Piai for petroleum facilities and a maritime industrial park respectively, and Country Garden's reclamation off Tanjung Kupang for Forest City.

The Johor royal family has stakes in all these projects, be it Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ismail or the state's crown prince Tunku Ismail Idris.

However, the name of Daing A Malek Daing A Rahaman had repeatedly appeared as either director or shareholder in companies where the Johor royal family holds interest.

Ask any politician in Johor about Daing A Malek (right), and they would associate him with the Johor royal family.

The man is widely reported to be a member of the Royal Court of Advisers to the Sultan of Johor and a close friend of the current ruler and his father.

But Daing A Malek is no mere businessman - he is also an Umno politician who has proven as capable adversary.

More than a just a businessman

In 2008, he led a faction to challenge then home minister Syed Hamid Albar for the leadership of the Kota Tinggi Umno division in Johor.

Daing A Malek obtained 13 nominations to Syed Hamid's 10 nominations, suggesting a stiff fight for the incumbent who had led the division since 1993.

The contest eventually degenerated into accusations and counter-accusations of bribery between the two factions and Daing A Malek was eventually found guilty of money politics by the party and barred from the contest.

However, he emerged as the new Kota Tinggi Umno division chief in 2013, winning the post uncontested after Syed Hamid decided not to defend his position.

Daing A Malek's role in Umno highlights the dynamics of the Malay nationalist party in Johor and dismisses the simplistic notion of "Umno versus royalty".

The businessman-cum-politician is well-known among the Malay and Orang Asli villagers along the coast of southern Johor, particularly among the fishing community whose livelihood has been severely impacted by the ongoing reclamation projects.

"He told the fishermen not to oppose the reclamation project and that they would be given some compensation," said an environmental activist who has been working in the area since 2011.

The activist, who declined to be named, said this was conveyed to him by fishermen from at least two fishing villages located along the Johor Straits - in the Sungai Danga and Tanjung Kupang areas.

What some fishermen may not know is that Daing A Malek has a personal stake in these projects.

A foot in royal businesses

According to the Fisheries Statistics 2012 prepared by the Department of Fisheries Malaysia, there are 613 registered fishermen on the western side of Johor Bahru and another 615 registered fishermen on the eastern side of the city.

Of them, 817 are bumiputera, 127 are Chinese and 284 are from the other races.

"Along the coast from Pendas to Tanjung Kupang, which is about 10km long, there are about 250 fishermen, mostly ethnic Malays, operating small boats with outboard motors.

"The Forest City reclamation site is located just next to the coast," said the activist.

Daing A Malek is a director - and controls 15.6 percent of the shares - in Esplanade Danga 88 Sdn Bhd, which has a 34 percent stake in the Forest City project.

The controlling stake in Esplanade Danga 88, at 64.4 percent, is held by Sultan Ibrahim while state-owned Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) holds the remaining 20 percent.

Likewise, in Spektrum Kukuh Sdn Bhd (SKSB) and Spektrum Budi Sdn Bhd (SBSB), where Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Idris holds a 21 percent stake, Daing A Malek hold a nine percent stake and is a director in both companies.

SKSB and SBSB are the vehicles of Benalec Holdings for the reclamation of 1,410.3 hectares off the coast of Tanjung Piai and another 712.3 hectares of reclamation along the coast of Pengerang.

Also, in SIPP Energy Sdn Bhd in which Sultan Ibrahim controls a 51 percent stake, Daing A Malek's name again appears as a director and a substantial stakeholder, holding 24.5 percent of the shares.

SIPP Energy is part of the SIPP Power consortium, which was directly awarded Project 4A to build and operate a power plant with a capacity of 1,000 to 1,400 megawatts in Johor.

However, the project is in limbo now, with YTL International Power Bhd withdrawing from the consortium after coming under pressure over the way the project was granted, without an open tender.

From monarch to tycoon

Sultan Ibrahim has attracted much attention in the last year, especially after selling 47 hectares of prime land in Johor Bahru to China-based Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd for RM4.5 billion in December last year.

The area is not far from a massive waterfront land bank in south-central Johor Bahru, owned by tycoon Lim Kang Ho's Iskandar Waterfront Holdings. Sultan Ibrahim has described Lim as a business partner.

This was followed by the ruler's purchase of a 15 percent stake in MOL AccessPortal (MOL) for RM396 million and 20 percent stake in Berjaya Times Square Sdn Bhd for RM250 million.

Earlier this month, Sultan Ibrahim finally conducted the groundbreaking ceremony for Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd, which is commencing development on the multi-billion ringgit land it purchased from the monarch, which has now been dubbed as "Princess Cove".

During the event, the ruler thanked the company's willingness to invest in Johor and said it would change the landscape of the state and create job opportunities.

Since the land sale, there has been speculation that Sultan Ibrahim may be involved in the subsequent development.

A Companies Commission of Malaysia search on Guangzhou R&F Properties’ Malaysian subsidiary, R&F Development Sdn Bhd, showed that it is wholly owned by Profit Range Holding Ltd, which is based in the British Virgin Islands.

Profit Range Holding is in turn owned by R&F Properties (HK) Company Ltd, which is in turn wholly owned by Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd.

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