Is
Maybe best to be- AWARE. Land Grabbers are On the Prowl Once Again.
It has been reported today, 20 February 2008, that University Malaya (UM) has proposed to develop 11.13ha of the land on which the campus (in a prime area of Kuala Lumpur) is sited, through a joint venture which it has been said, could earn the university at least RM312million.
UM deputy vice-chancellor (academic and international relations) Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin was quoted as saying that the land would be developed to benefit staff and students.
“UM is not selling the land. It still belongs to us. All the money received will go to the university. No individual will benefit from the project,” said Prof Amin, who is acting vice-chancellor. (Vice-chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim is overseas.)
In a statement yesterday, UM said
“It would utilise the land, an under-utilised area (
“The successful completion of the development project is expected to provide UM with a minimum income of RM312mil or the land value of RM200mil plus a share of the developer’s profit, whichever is higher.”
Five companies had evidently submitted proposals to be the joint venture partner with PPC-MINT-GLOMAC getting the nod.
Prof Amin was also quoted as saying that “UM had sought approval from Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed on Jan 25 for the development.”
UM has set up ‘UM Holdings Sdn Bhd’,headed by BERNAMA chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Annuar Zaini, to develop the university’s assets, including its 365ha land bank,
Other members of UM Holdings are Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Augustine Ong, Anuar Mohamad, Azhar Haron and Prof Dr Muhamad Zakaria.
Last year, (June 2007) Prime Minister Datuk Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had quashed rumours that UM would be relocating to Sepang, in Selangor, saying that the university’s campus had historical significance.
('Bolding' was done by me)
It all sounds rather ‘fishy’ what do you think?
More misinformation, most probably so; the plot will thicken soon.
Big Money, Big Temptations, Big Pay-offs, who knows, but there are certain to be hungry vultures hovering aloft, eagerly awaiting the ample spoils.
Are we seeing the beginning of the end for UM as we know it?
The wooded area, green and 'unproductive land', (see aerial view below-CLICK ON IMAGE FOR BIGGER VIEW) most likely is the area to be 'developed'.
This forested area is a vital green lung, not only for the university but also for Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, but it looks as though the trees will be sacrificed on the alter of greed; they will be replaced by a concrete jungle.
Satellite image of UM green lung from Google Earth
Note the green lung the "Rimba Imlu" in English this means, Forest of Knowledge. On UM maps like this one, it is marked in English as Botanical Garden, how very very odd. (click on image for full sized view)
I think we are at the thin edge of the wedge stage, and slowly but surely the wedge(s) will be driven in, step by step, splitting the noble
Unless the UM Students, the UM Academics, the UM Alumni, and the general public, object strongly, the two faced arse kissers will surely easily get their way, and be laughing all the way to their Swiss bank accounts, which are no doubt already bursting at the seems with ill-gotten gains.
The two faced arse-kissers, must be saying:
"More virgin land to violate! More big bucks for me"
Democracy Malaysia Style, more like SNAFU (Situation Normal All Fucked Up), once again!
Object to this dictatorial autocracy, choose, no demand, true democracy.
2 comments:
Captain,
SNAFU? I prefer the more appropriate FUBAR. Just look around at the Malaysian body politic and the mentality of our so-called leaders. The have no-fear, all-is-for-grabs by us approach to running any thing they can lay their hands on.
Nothing is sacred, nothing is respected, no sense of pride in anything they do.
I look at this US campus founded in 1857, where I am now, and the kind of planning they do, the vast swathes of land left aside and earmarked for future university expansion. Land, that in the meantime, is set aside for the public to enjoy, with nature and peoples rights dominating while the university achieves gargantuan leaps in research and development; and wonder if we in bolehland will ever get to this stage or achieve even a scrap of what this university has achieved, besides churning out the requisite hordes of graduates having difficulty stringing simple sentences.
Many years ago I studied at another university in the US which was situated right smack in the middle of the city which over the decades grew all around it. Never did I feel the claustrophobia or sense of being hemmed in or felt the tranquility disturbed by developments all around. The pains the city and university administrators took to ensure decent conditions for both the students and the general populace was, to say the least, remarkable.
I think bolehland has already lost the plot, or as you so aptly put it, fast sliding down the slippery slope into third world oblivion.
Thanks to people, even those supposedly educated ones, who can't see beyond their personal greed and thrive on behaving like common thieves.
I gave up on Universiti Malaya, where I graduated from in 1974,long ago looking at the general sense of dilapidation and decrepitude that took over during the ensuing years.
The college hostels where we lived comfortably then, more and more resembling kongsis for foreign construction workers being one example that stood out when I visited after many years. What other horrors there are I do not want to speculate. But I guess that is a good a reason as any, to bury the university for good in the name of development.
But, cheers, nevertheless.
Thanks for your comments mr bojangles, I concur with your observations.
Over the past 50 years Malaysia has in many ways slowly degenerated and the incline is getting steeper.
True the cosmetic changes are there, but the fact that maintenance and upkeep are not effectively carried out is unsettling.
As you correctly say, the accommodation in the universities and colleges is now slum-like.
Civil service offices are in a state of disrepair, one reason is the low quality of the original fixtures and fittings (top price paid, lowest quality provided) coupled with a couldn't care less attitude and virtually zero maintenance.
Armed forces camps are dilapidated and dirty, and armed forces vehicles are often seen broken down by the roadside.
The examples are endless.
The underlying root cause of the malaise is, of course, endemic bribery and corruption.
The new tourist slogan should perhaps be changed to-
"Malaysia Truly Third World, cheap and cheerful"
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