June 29, 2011
KTMB Land Issue: The final Train in to Tanjung Pagar
by Din Merican
In signing the Points of Agreement (POA) upon Malayan Railway (KTM) Land with Singapore upon Jun 27, 2011 Minister in the Prime Ministers Department, Nor Mohamed Yakcop said, Its the very happy day. Its the new beginning for us in team-work in attracting investment. Its excellent for both countries. We have been assured this is the new beginning for great team-work as great as plenty of investments. Certainly, not usually Iskandar will do great though the total of Malaysia will do great because of certainty factor in attracting foreign investment.
In reciprocation, Singapore Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam said: It unequivocally takes the charge to the opposite level. Its win-win.for both countries as great as promises most more. In that sense, in each sense, the ancestral moment.
As the prolonged time friend of Singapore who had the payoff of critical as great as working there in late 1980s, we join Malaysians as great as Singaporeans in supporting as great as welcoming this enhancement in shared family in in in in in between the dual countries upon the jointly fitting basis, the single that could be invariably strengthened in the future.
But we am of the view that to sustain this sure momentum in shared relations, mild efforts as great as alternative certainty office office building measures cannot be undertaken in an ambiguous manner. There is, therefore, the need for the supervision to keep Malaysians informed upon critical issues identical to the KTMB Land issue.
Murkiness, obfuscation as great as mystery have unfortunately overshadowed the so-called win-win understanding in apply! oneself of the land barter understanding in Singapore involving KTMB (Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd), that was concluded to in in in in in between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib! Razak the nd his Singapore counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, in Kuala Lumpur May twenty-four as great as September 20, 2010.
Six rounds of talks have been held in in in in in between Heads of Foreign Ministries of both countries, even if
the categorical negotiators have been the Khazanah National Bhd as great as Temasik Holdings, the particular governments investment arm.
To-date, no sum upon the definitive result of the understanding have been done open by either supervision even after the end of the sixth as great as final talks, that were held in Singapore upon December 31 final year.
Instead, out of the blue, The STAR journal ran the story upon Jun 9, 2011 under the caption Party skeleton upon track for final sight ride to Tanjung Pagar. And upon Jun 14, 2011, The New Straits Times in the front page report said Tickets snapped up for KTMBs final Tanjung Pagar service.Apparently, KTMB had not prolonged ago taken the little of the reporters upon the tour/special trip down to Tanjung Pagar (picture upon top of right).
Historical Significane of Jun 30, 2011
It would crop up that KTMB as great as the little in the media lend towards to treat the pending closure of the scarcely 100-year old Tanjung Pagar Station as great as the ancestral office office building as something merely nostalgic. Seeking out as great as keeping the open informed per sum upon the result of the 6 rounds of executive talks by the dual countries or upon related issues of th! e railwa ys use or the story seems insignificant to them.
Singaporeans contingency have been in glee over KTMBs idea of interesting the history-deficient journalists, who do not appear to know that the country could have taken for the ride by Singapore over tens of billions of KTMB genuine estate in Singapore w! ithout the dequate compensation.
A rsther than perceptive part of of the public, the sure Karim Mahsood, upon Jun 13, 2011 wrote to The STAR newspaper, reminding readers that Jun 30, 2011, the date of the final sight to Tanjung Pagar is not the joyous affair, though the distressing episode in the story of KTMB in Singapore
Karim Mahsood attributed this expansion to the series of hapless steps that were taken by the own leaders, that began in 1990 with the unilateral agreement in in in in in between Malaysia as great as Singapore called the Points of Agreement (POA), as great as culminating in the 2010 understanding for KTMB to relocate the services from Tanjung Pagar to Woodlands upon Jun 30, 2011.
The Najib-Lee Hsien Loong Deal
Under the Najib-Lee Hsien Loong deal, the Singapore Government would vest 4 tiny land parcels in Marina South as great as dual parcels of land in Ophir-Rochor in MS Pte Ltd. (a joint-venture company set up by Khazanah National Bhd. as great as Temasik Holdings in the 60-40 % equity arrangement respectively, for the expansion of the said 6 parcels when KTMB vacates the Tanjung Pagar Railway Station), in lieu of the 3 parcels of so-called POA land in Tanjung Pagar, Kranji as great as Woodlands as great as 3 pieces of land in Bukit Timah. The prolonged as great as short of the understanding is that KTMBs Tanjung Pagar Station will be closed upon or by Jul 1, 2011 as great as relo! cated to Woodlands temporarily.
And upon Jun 26, 2011, there was nonetheless another shaft out of the blue: that Nor Mohamed Yakoop (and not Foreign Minister Anifah Aman) as great as Singapores Minister of Foreign Affairs as great as Law, K. Shanmugam, would sign the instrument containing sum of the doing of the POA upon KTMB land in Singapore upon Jun 27. It was couched innocuously that Tanjung Pagar would be closed down by or o! n Jul 1 , 2011. Perhaps, both governments wish this useful event to pass off unnoticed.
Nor Mohamed as great as Shanmugam additionally reliable that Malaysia as great as Singapore have concluded to open the fast transformation system (RTS) couple in in in in in between the dual countries by 2018 and, secondly, that nonetheless another joint-venture company had been determined in further to MS Pte Ltd well known as Iskandar JV Co. , held 50-50 by Khazanah Bhd as great as Temasek Holdings to undertake dual expansion projects in Iskandar Malaysia involving 87 hectares of land.
Despite the above, the open in both countries, particularly in Malaysia, sojourn ignorant especially as to how the Najib-Hsien Loong understanding would contribute to jointly fitting charge in in in in in between the dual countries in the future and, specifically, how the understanding would guarantee Malaysias inhabitant interest. Indeed, there have been wider domestic implications that the Government leaders contingency face.
The KTMB Land saga(and alternative properties in Singapore) does raise multiform critical points:
a) The pierce by KTMB to Woodlands will vigilance the beginning of the transfer to
Singapore, not usually the ancestral railway hire office office building in Tanjung Pagar, thou! gh addit ionally the little 175.7 hectares of KTMB land, in sell for corner expansion of 6 parcels of land in Marina South as great as Ophir-Rocher whose total value is additionally not well known to the public. ASIAWEEK repository in the March 31, 1995 issue estimated the 32 hectares of prime skill of Tanjung Pagar alone to be value USD 2 billion, creation KTMB the republics second-biggest land owner after the local government.
b) When KTMB vacates Tanjung Pagar Railway Station to tumpang(squat) during Singapore CIQ office office building in Woodlands by Jul 1, 2011, it woul! d actual ly meant that all KTM land in the Island nation, south of Woodlands, will lapse to Singapore. This Malaysian genuine estate in Singapore the little 175.7 hectares in all will be left perpetually though competent remuneration to Malaysia. Again based upon ASIAWEEKs guess in 1995 of the 32 hectares of Tanjung Pagar property, KTMBs complete 175.7 hectares of genuine estate in the island Republic could currently easily be value in in in in in between USD 0.25 to USD 0.5 trillion.
c) The Woodlands checkpoint is not the railway hire in the normal sense though the Customs, Immigration as great as Quarantine (CIQ) checkpoint belonging to Singapore. It is in truth difficult to imagine how KTMB can effectively use the Woodlands checkpoint as the new terminal in Singapore. It does demeanour identical to KTMB will be constrained to retreat further north to Johar Bahru, earlier rsther than than later. When that happens, the stately chapter in the story of KTMB operations to as great as from Singapore would be forced in to an early closure.
d) The 1990 POA was Lee Kuan Yews strategi! c pierce to subtly dig the KTMB Railway line that literally divides the Island State in to dual halves from North to South. Therefore, the pierce by KTMB from Tanjung Pagar to Woodlands is additionally the beginning of the fulfillment of Lee Kuan Yews mental condition since 1990.
e) The injection of the so-called expansion charges by the Prime Minister of Singapore during the eleventh hour in to the negotiations in Kuala Lumpur is seen as the single done in bad faith.
As the make the difference of fact, Singapores insistence that Khazanah will have to pay sure expansion charges competence meant that in reality Singapore would get KTMBs complete 175.7 hectares in Singapore as great as ! Khazanah s investment in corner expansion projects in Singapore most for free.
f) And, in the meantime, the dispute over the so-called expansion charges has still not been resolved. There is comprehensive silence over the standing of the matter, that both countries concluded in Kuala Lumpur in 2010 to be brought up to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
g) No reduction critical have been genuine concerns here that not usually will KTMB remove 175.7 hectares of the land as great as even Khazanahs investments in Singapore but, some-more importantly, that Malaysia, as the whole, over the longer haul, would effectively remove carry out of vast chucks of Johor as great as even land as distant as Malacca to Singapore through the Iskandar- Malaysia ventures as great as alternative identical plans.
How the little Singaporeans demeanour during the Najib-Hsien Loong Deal? Many Singaporeans who have been friends of Malaysia have been undetermined because the Malaysian negotiators concluded to such the understanding in the initial place? They ask what probable quid pro quo benefits Malaysia could have. Surely, they contend Malaysia does not need the money.
Is maintaining KTMBs assets in Singapore the burden to Malaysia? If this is ! not the case, afterwards Malaysia has the top hand. So, what as great as because the pour out as great as because the bending-backwards? Why so eager to close the deal? Worse still, accessible Singaporeans ask because so cheap?Many Singaporeans believe Malaysia is amateurish and, as the result, gets short-changed. That Malaysia is regularly ill-prepared as great as that it is not consummate enough. They charge this to the series of factors:
i) partly due to interference by the politicians as great as that the civil servants have been marginalized;
ii) structurally, Malaysia does not have as great as fails to attract the brightest brains in to the Civil Service, people with the long-term seductiveness of the country during heart;
and iii) politicians as great as civil servants with too most personal, short-term interests to fight the kiasu, no-holds-barred, win-all, no tolak ansur (no give as great as take) Singapores Team. This, Singaporea! ns say, is during the root of the problem, the single that is most unfortunate.
Why Nor Mohamad, not Anifah Aman
Singaporeans have been additionally generally undetermined as to because Nor Mohamed Yakoop represented Malaysia during the new signing ceremony in Singapore? They expected Foreign Minister Anifah Aman to have accompanied Nor Mohamed as great as do the honours for Malaysia.
But as unapproachable Singaporeans, they contend the understanding is okay after all it is Malaysias loss as great as Singapores gain. As Singaporeans they feel unapproachable of their Team, who got the best understanding for Singapore. As for Lee Kuan Yew, getting such the understanding from Malaysia creates the result even sweeter.
Need for Transparency
All told, transparency is consequential in ensuring positive, brazen transformation in shared family as great as in winning the hearts as great as minds of the public. One can try to mask underlining problems of any understanding by di! fference as great as promises of future infrastructural expansion as great as accompanying economic growth. But great intentions can furnish bad results.
Foreign process should be concerned with the countrys inhabitant interest. Diplomacy as an instrument of Foreign Policy is the art of negotiation, of getting deals that serve the inhabitant interest. In alternative words, inhabitant seductiveness should foreordain Foreign Policy.
Unless inhabitant seductiveness is resolutely embedded in the minds of supervision ministers, it is not likely that the creation of foreign process will lapse to the proper, executive place during the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in the case, Wisma Putra). In this regard, Singaporean diplomats as great as their domestic masters have been sheer realists, regularly portion their countrys inhabitant interest.
In conclusion, there is the need for correct inhabitant debate in Malaysia upon the Najib- Hsien Loong understanding in the media, in egghead as great as commercial operation circles and, indeed, in conclusion in Parliament. Perhaps, the White Paper should be presen! ted to o ur legislators in Parliament.
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