PETALING JAYA: Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua today hit out at the government for protecting the interests of 1MDB, following a minister’s claim yesterday that the Bandar Malaysia and Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) projects would not be affected by the freeze on luxury property developments.
He was responding to Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who said yesterday that the 1MDB-linked projects had already received approval “in principle” and development could not be stopped.
Pointing out that TRX and Bandar Malaysia were two of 1MDB’s largest assets, Pua said both needed to be developed if the fund wanted any chance of staying afloat.
“Tengku Adnan Mansor demonstrates the ‘Malaysia Boleh’ spirit by declaring the plans for Bandar Malaysia ‘approved’ even before a master developer has been selected in order to circumvent the cabinet luxury development ban.
“It is quite clear that the government’s only principle here is to protect the interests of 1MDB,” he said in a statement.
The government’s decision to freeze luxury property developments valued at over RM1 million followed a report by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), warning that unsold residential properties were at a decade-high level.
BNM added that the glut could worsen if the current supply-demand conditions persisted.
The directive, which came into effect on Nov 1, covers high-rise condominiums, shopping malls and commercial units.
Pua, who is DAP national publicity secretary, said TRX and Bandar Malaysia were two of the biggest slated development projects in Kuala Lumpur.
He said however that the finance ministry had yet to declare a winner to the tender for the master developer of Bandar Malaysia.
“The latest response from the finance ministry last week is that there are eight companies which have ‘expressed interest’ in developing the massive 486-acre project.
“Kuala Lumpur mayor Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz himself told Malaysiakini that DBKL had yet to receive an application from Bandar Malaysia.”
If exemptions from the freeze could be given just because approvals had been made “in principle”, Pua questioned the worth of the directive at all.
“Does this mean that other ‘planned’ high-end developments, which have yet to submit their planning applications, will also get exemptions?” he said.
“If this freeze on high-end developments is to be taken seriously at all, the government has to make sure it is fairly enforced across the board.”
He also hit out at 1MDB, saying it received “special treatment” which discriminates against all private businesses.
Reiterating his stand against the freeze, Pua added that the policy was not properly targeted and would fail to achieve its objectives.
He warned that it would only create greater distortions in the market and turn away both foreign and domestic investors. -FMT
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