The PR1MA Bullsh*t

If there is BR1M, KR1M, PR1MA etc, is there such a thing as B.S.1M? Just add them all up. Here is The Star :

PRIMA a roaring success

• Perumahan Rak­­­yat 1Malaysia (PR1MA) attracted one million applicants
• the first batch of 560 PR1MA units ready for buyers

(Make no mistake folks. After launching it ages ago, the first batch of 560 units are finally ready for buyers. Or is it really the case? Do read on.)

 Someone is missing in this picture. Who is it?

• Najib said demand seven-fold higher than capa­city, govt committed to building 
• budget alloca­ted RM1.3bil to build 80,000 PR1MA units nationwide 
• Najib lauded Putrajaya Holdings for being first to deliver completed units 
• Putrajaya Holding exceeded expectation, selling at 30% cheaper market value.
• PR1MA units sold at RM120k (75.7 sq m) and RM150k  (93 sq m) 
• I could not wait to deliver the keys to the first housebuyers,” Najib said
• Putrajaya would soon have 67,186 affordable units to meet growing demand
• PR1MA Corp chairman Jamaludin Jarjis said company now looking to buying Malay reserve land to build affordable units as 70% of applicants were Malays. 
• FT Minister Tengku Adnan said Perbadanan Putrajaya had six more parcels of land 

My comments :  Well first of all JJ is not in the picture above. How come? Why isnt Jamaluddin Jarjis the Chairman of PR1MA Corporation present with the PM to hand over the keys? 

The answer is because PR1MA Corporation did not build these 560 units in Putrajaya. These 560 units were built by Putrajaya Holdings Bhd.  The banner says so 'PR1MA Putrajaya Holdings'.

I thought PR1MA was supposed to build the houses? But it says Putrajaya Holdings  has built these houses. Unless they say Putrajaya Holdings was a "subcontractor" to PR1MA Corporation. I dont think so.

So what is the purpose of PR1MA Corporation? What is the use of Jamaludin Jarjis being its chairman? 

The PM says these 560 apartments built by Putrajaya Holdings are the first batch ever of "PR1MA" houses.

First batch ever? Habis what has Jamaluddin Jarjis been doing all these years?

Now JJ says he will buy Malay Reserve land (which is cheaper) to build PR1MA houses. This is because 70% of PR1MA house buyers are Malays. So what about the 30% non Malays? They have Indian Reservation Land in Oklahoma. Dont know if there is any Chinese Reservation Land?

Here is something else folks. Plenty of crap is happening in Felda. Ever since the listing of Felda Global Ventures it has been one bad news after another.

The IPO price of FGV was RM4.65 per share. Now it is just above RM2.60 or something - about half the share price has been wiped out. Other oil palm companies have also been hit by weak palm oil prices but no one else has seen their share price drop by almost half - like FGV.

Poor Felda settlers who took loans to buy FGV shares are now crying. The value of their shares is way below the amount they borrowed to buy them. Siksa lah peneroka Felda. 

The MACC has arrested someone related to Felda Investment Corp over some purchase of expensive hotels and other real estate in London and elsewhere. The papers say that even the son of the Felda Chairman has been questioned. 

It looks like the high and mighty always live the good life.  What about the peneroka Felda? Macam mana pula nasib peneroka Felda?

Anyway the Prime Minister announced about three years ago that Felda would build 20,000 houses for the Felda folks, second generation etc. Rumah batu and so on. Todate less than 30 have been built.

There is land available but the problem is the land that is available in the settlements for housing has not been surveyed,  subdivided, titles issued etc.  That is a long process.  After the surveys and new titles are issued and subdivision done, the town planning approvals must be secured (for sewerage, water, electricity substations etc). All these take time.

But step one is the lands must be surveyed. (These are usually the large pieces of empty land located in the middle of the Gugusan Felda where the Kedai Felda and Bank Simpanan branches are located). 

Felda or no Felda, all land matters fall under the local authority ie the local Majlis Daerah.  Felda cannot do anything without local authority approval.

Pendek kata, the PM announced 20,000 affordable houses for Felda families but hardly 30 have been built and delivered.

And these 30 or so have been built illegally !! The Menteri Besar of that State said to hell with the regulations. Build first, paperwork later. 

But here is the catch. The peneroka families still have to take a bank loan to buy these houses. How is the bank going to finance a house with no proper documentation? Tak boleh.

So Felda has come out with some 'sewa dan beli' - the settler families stay there and pay a rent which goes towards ownership. Hopefully by the time they finish paying, the proper approvals and documenation will be complete. Hopefully. Maybe when Gabriel is the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

This time we are really screwed. 

How about some cigars and korek hidung?