Why Pulau Kukup should not go to the sultanate

QUESTION TIME | With the seemingly deliberate lack of clarity over the status of Pulau Kukup, which was gazetted as a national park and then degazetted, it is best to keep it out of the clutches of the Johor sultanate and let it be regazetted as a national park.

The straightforward reason for this is that the state royalty is far too tangled in business, which involves very valuable land, such as the RM4.5 billion received for the Forest City project.

The Johor sultan was also involved in a move in 2014 by the then-menteri besar to give him powers to appoint board members which will oversee all land matters in Johor, effectively giving him the power to control land matters in the state.

The latest reports, however, seem to indicate that current Menteri Besar Osman Sapian inexplicably prefers to go down the sultanate route. Pulau Kukup will be alienated to the Johor sultan, who will, in turn, ensure that the mangrove island will be maintained as a national park. 

Why that roundabout route when the previous arrangement was perfectly clear and unambiguous?

In our constitutional monarchy system, whereby the sultans are titular heads, it would set a dangerous precedent to put land under sultanates via the Sultanate Amendment Act 1934, especially when no one seems to know what exactly this act says.

The issue exploded when former newsman A Kadir Jasin demanded that the menteri besar explain the controversial degazetting of Pulau Kukup as a national park or resign.

Kadir did not stop at that. "I would like to ask Osman (photo) if he was telling the truth when he told me before the start of the Bersatu supreme leadership council meeting on Nov 28 that the (Johor) palace did not interfere with the administration of the state.

"I asked him if there is truth to the rumours that the palace was taking state lands, even those measuring as little as half an acre.

"He said 'no'. But he said he wouldn't know if such a thing happened during the BN state government," he said in his blog.

Kadir added that he then reminded Osman that the latter was with the BN state government for three terms from 1999 to 2013, before contesting under the Pakatan Harapan banner in the May general election.

"There is no need to beat around the bush. I would like to ask Osman and his Harapan colleagues if this true and legal. 

"If the Harapan state government under Osman approved this deal, then it is no better than the last BN government.”

The Johor crown prince has taken umbrage over the issue, saying that as sultanate land, it would continue to be protected as a national park and no development can take place on it. 

However, he did not say why there is a necessity to put it under the sultanate, as the current arrangement already is sufficient to keep it as a national park under clearly defined conditions according to the law.

Conflicts of interest

It would also help if the Johor royalty is kept out of any potential conflicts of interest under the law as it has a lot of dealings in land, including the aforementioned Forest City.

The 116 acres of land on which Forest City is being built, together with reclaimed land, was sold to China developers Guangzhou R&F for a massive RM4.5 billion in December 2013. The land was alienated to the sultan by the state government. 

The sultan revealed in an interview with the New Straits Times that he paid RM300 million for the land, netting a cool profit of RM4.2 billion from the sale of the land to the China developers. He continues to hold a substantial 30 percent stake in Forest City.

Here’s an extract from the 2015 NST interview where the sultan reveals how he arrived at the figure of RM4.5 billion.

“Let me explain how this figure came about. I have a 30 percent share with the joint-venture company. I foresee an RM100 billion gross development value. Under industrial norms, you will make at least, even in the worst scenario, between 20 and 25 percent profit. 

"So, I did basic arithmetic. What is 30 percent of 20? That is six billion. That is the profit at the end of the day in 10 years by looking at the gross development value... I asked for my profits in advance, and in return, I offered them a RM1.5 billion discount. That is how RM4.5 billion came up.”

“Forest City, which will be built in southwest Johor, was my idea. I brought the Forest City investors in. The developers took into consideration my ideas. The investors visited the proposed site and established that it was strategically located. 

"They have confidence in the government and me, and they are also comfortable here in Johor, which is peaceful, united and strategically located. So what is wrong if developers from China want to invest in Johor?”

With these land investments, Johor would be better off keeping its land and handling it wisely instead of putting valuable parts of it under one individual, even if that individual is the ruler. At least the Johor state assembly will be involved in any degazetting procedure in future.

Housing bill

And then there was the issue of giving powers to the sultan over the appointment of a council which would decide on land matters in Johor. Here is the relevant extract from the same NST interview:

“Why did it (the Housing and Real Property Enactment Board Bill 2014) become an issue? Because those outside Johor want it to become an issue. It was not an issue among Johoreans. What has it to do with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim? Why does he want to comment on this issue? 

Shahidan had said the ruler should stay out of the state’s executive powers. He said that Putrajaya would not tolerate matters which breached the Federal Constitution, as Malaysia practises a constitutional monarchy, and not an absolute monarchy.

"This enactment was established for me to take care of the people’s interest… The names of the housing board members will be chosen by the menteri besar and granted an audience with me, just as an introduction. Apalah yang hendak dibisingkan? (What is all the ruckus about?)”

All state governments, not just Johor, must wake up to the fact that the rulers do not have executive powers, and must jealously guard their turf against any encroachment. 

It is one thing to take advice from royalty, and another thing altogether to give it anything it asks for.

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P GUNASEGARAM believes that separation of powers is necessary for Malaysia to progress evenly. E-mail: t.p.guna@gmail.com. - Mkini