Johor reclamations: Where will the sand come from?

In just a decade, Johor has embarked on two mega reclamation projects. The amount of sand required is immense.

Forest City, the first mega reclamation which commenced in 2015, was supposed to fill around 1,386ha off the southwest coast of Johor to create four artificial islands.

However, this exercise was stalled after only some 396ha were reclaimed, the size of the first island, as demand for luxury real estate designed primarily for wealthy clients from China plummeted following Beijing’s move to impose curbs on foreign investments by its citizens.

Now, Johor is eyeing its western coast along the Straits of Malacca. It plans to reclaim a similar size - 1,295ha - to create three artificial islands as an oil and gas hub called the Maharani Energy Gateway.

According to the Maharani Energy Gateway’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, an estimated total of 300.48 million cubic metres of sand will be needed to reclaim the three artificial islands as well as a fourth plot on the coast.

For context, that is equivalent to the volume of 120,192 Olympic swimming pools. Where will such a large volume of sand come from?

For the Johor sultan-backed Forest City project, a large amount of sand was mined from the Teluk Ramunia Shoals, off the southeast coast of Johor.

Malaysiakini in 2014 detailed the sand-mining activities in the area, carried out by Mados Sdn Bhd, which is owned by the Johor royal family.

Royalty-linked sand sources

In the latest reclamation exercise for the Maharani Energy Gateway, its EIA named two potential companies in Johor which can supply the project with sand.

They are Suria Positif Sdn Bhd in the waters of Batu Pahat and Ibzi Holdings Sdn Bhd in the waters of Sungai Balang, Muar.

Malaysiakini’s checks with the Companies Commission showed that both firms are royalty-linked.

Ibzi Holdings is 99 percent owned by Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar while the remaining 1 percent is owned by Johor regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.

Meanwhile, Suria Positif is wholly owned by Bidari Kekal Sdn Bhd which in turn is 70 percent owned by Daing A Malek Daing A Rahaman, the Johor ruler’s business partner and close adviser.

The remaining shares in Bidari Kekal are owned by Abd Aziz Daing Rahman and Daing A Abd Rahim Daing A Rahman, who each control a 15 percent stake.

Coincidentally, both Sultan Ibrahim and Daing A Malek are also owners of the proposed Maharani Energy Gateway project.

Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar

The project developer, Maharani Energy Gateway Sdn Bhd, is 40 percent owned by the Johor sultan and 15 percent owned by Daing.

The remaining 45 percent are owned by two individuals - Eric Ong Zong Ren, 28, and Valerie Ong Huei Zhen, 29, - through K Energy Sdn Bhd.

Malaysiakini in this report details how Eric and Valerie are registered in the same household as 69-year-old medical doctor-turned-businessperson Dr Ong Tun Tse.

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PART II: Pair in their 20s are Johor sultan's business partners – here's how

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Tun Tse is involved in the troubled Melaka Gateway, another mega reclamation project in neighbouring Malacca.

He holds a 39.75 percent stake in KAJ Development Sdn Bhd, the developer of the Melaka Gateway.

The Maharani Energy Gateway, in its EIA report, also listed sand mining concessionaires in neighbouring Malacca that it could potentially source sand from.

Among those on the list is KAJ Development, which also conducts sand mining activities in Malacca waters.

Other entities listed as potential sources of sand are Swas Metropolitan Sdn Bhd, Timbang Suasa Sdn Bhd, Yayasan Melaka and Syarikat Bahtera Teroka Sdn Bhd.

Apart from Yayasan Melaka, a state-owned foundation, there is no indication that the shareholders of the firms with sand-mining activities in Malacca are sitting politicians or reigning royals.

The project with a gross value of RM99 billion over 10 years has promised to create 26,769 jobs.

However, it is weighted against the significant impact on local fisherfolk and the environment and whether it can live up to its promises or go the way of the stalled Forest City mega reclamation project. - Mkini