Saturday’s visit of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARCC) in Brickendonbury, outside London brings great memories of a gigantic battle to stop the wasteful expenditure of taxpayers’ money about 15 years ago.
He would have appreciated the large tracts of greenery and observed the meadows, pastures and paddocks of the typical English countryside. He would have also watched cows grazing nearby or caught sight of a fox chasing a wild rabbit that had come out of the burrow in the distance.
But these views would not be there if plans by the Malaysian government to plonk concrete buildings in the name of “sports development” had gone ahead.
Why visit the past, you may ask? This is certainly not a self-glorifying effort to extol investigative journalistic skills but an important lesson in money management and good governance.
Events of the past should be examples of not repeating mistakes. The need to be accountable and truthful in using taxpayers’ money should be continuously emphasised to our politicians and civil servants.
Questions were then raised as to the rationale behind this dogged attempt to stop the project. After the second fact-finding trip to Brickendonbury in June 2007, I wrote:
"Aren’t all members of the cabinet and the civil service guided by those very principles of good governance, where transparency and accountability supersede everything else?
“Have they forgotten the slogans they campaigned on and got elected to office? What about the civil servants and their akujanji and oath of office, which require exemplary practices? No, my friends, they are all are aware of their commitments, but sometimes they suffer from selective amnesia.
“Yes, my friends, if they are not constantly reminded of what is expected of them, they sometimes tend to slip into permanent memory loss. And that’s why, time and again, they ought to be reminded of their social and moral responsibilities.”
Project cost not small money
The issue started in 2006 with the Sports Ministry announcing a grandiose plan for a massive complex at the centre for use by Malaysian athletes. Like many others, we read it as yet another exercise in wasteful expenditures.
In the end, in 2008 – a good two years after the project was intimated – the Sports Ministry and the National Sports Council had to retreat with mud splattered on their faces and in the process lost millions in fees paid to consultants, travelling costs and other expenditure.
The project cost was not small money – the estimated cost was £70 million, about RM490 million at the then prevailing exchange rates. The whole project was premised on a series of untruths and misinformation; denials; inducement and even threats as the fight to stop wasteful expenditure progressed.
This was supported by “testimonials” from “experts” from as far as Perth, who promoted its non-existent benefits by spinning theories that a training centre or a forward training base in London would be beneficial to Malaysian athletes to use it to further their “expansion” into Europe.
Then, there was a series of lies to the Cabinet Committee on Sports that our footballers and squash players were already using existing facilities and the need to build a hostel, an Olympic size swimming pool and a Fifa-approved football field.
The ministry made us believe was that the plan was to “renovate existing facilities to accommodate our athletes” but what they did not tell us was that there were no accommodation facilities in the first place. During preliminary talks with the local council, they wanted to build rooms to accommodate 50, but when plans were submitted, they went up to 70.
Would we have so many athletes at any one time in London or was it planned to accommodate members of the many rombongan which visit the English city for summer shopping? Or was it to reward certain supporters and cronies in party elections?
No likelihood Herts Council would approve
When all efforts to stop publication of the truth failed and when the blatant lies were pointed out, a 14-page letter found its way to the then deputy prime minister in his capacity as the chairperson of the committee and copies to all and sundry, including the editor who authorised and encouraged publication – except me – the guy who wrote the articles.
And the finale when everything failed was attaching the “anti-national” tag and a call to my then-editor – Ho Kay Tat – that he and I would face prosecution for “damaging the reputation of the country!”
From Day One, the ministry was told that there is no likelihood that the Herts Council would approve anything in that God-forsaken place surrounded by agricultural farmland.
But despite this, they ventured hoping that they could strike an abang-adik deal with the approving industries.
They were of the opinion that they could replicate the Malaysian style of tutup satu mata (close one eye) but it would never be acceptable where respect for the law is paramount and would have been criminally liable if attempts to grease the palm were made.
This despite being told repeatedly that no local authority would budge from environmental laws, even if it was a government-to-government deal. Even throwing in an arms purchase would have made no difference
Another attempt to justify the project – it was presented as part of Malaysia’s preparations for the London Olympics which was to be held in 2012 – but it did not sway the council.
The good news at that time was that the plans had to be aborted and money saved, but about the same time, another money-wasting campaign to promote Malaysian food had already taken root in London.
Again, the Tourism Ministry lost millions, but it’s another story to be told another day. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN has fond memories of calling the bluff of civil servants who were involved in the project and treasures that 14-page letter as a scar of a good battle. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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