No to KLIA@East – We already have KLIA!
It is perhaps a coincidence that recently Sime Darby was inadvertently forced into and be involved – by chance – in two major projects of national interests which would see the rakyat rise up to voice their displeasure.
First, it was the move to take over IJN by the world’s largest plantation company (which had suffered losses of RM100 million by selling palm oil to China and RM77.5 million through rogue trading, after it had merged with Kumpulan Guthrie and Golden Hope Plantations in 2007) with a view to privatizing it.
IJN, or the National Heart Institute, is very close to the rakyat’s heart and they had spoken out loud disapprovingly. The rakyat was fearful, with good reason, that the move would likely rob them of excellent and affordable medical treatments for their heart ailments which are their No.1 killer. Happily, the authority and Sime Darby had allowed better judgement to rule and placed public interest first by abandoning the deal on Friday, 5 January 2009.
Now we have a second situation involving Sime Darby that the rakyat, in their wisdom, are also questioning and exceedingly unhappy about.
This had to do with Sime Darby’s application been given approval by the government for it to build a Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Labu, Negeri Sembilan on the same day the company had announced it was pulling out of its bid to take over IJN.
Whether the IJN takeover bid was a red herring in order for the company to be successful in its application to build the now-branded KLIA East @ Labu, is best left as speculation by over-active minds and loose tongues. Whether also it is an attempt by the authority to appease Sime Darby’s unsuccessful bid to privatize IJN, one cannot run away from the fact that there are indeed far larger issues to be taken into consideration as far as the construction of the LCCT in Labu is concerned. As the rakyat view them, they are of national interests. This of course should not be seen as an attempt by the rakyat to deny economic developments coming to Negeri Sembilan when there had been numerous corridors of development earmarked for other states. Far from it, the rakyat are not against development no matter where it happens as long as it truly benefits them and they don’t end up footing the bill with massive bailouts. When ulterior motives come in the guise of development that’s when the rakyat have to be doubly careful to safeguard their hard-earned tax money.
Seriously, where KLIA East @ Labu is concerned and as the rakyat delve into its pros and cons, there arise far more questions than whole-hearted support for the project. Why is that? The rakyat shall not beat about the bush. The rakyat shall simply come out and ask the hard questions and hope the right answers will be forthcoming for the rakyat to give their full support for the project.
1. Why the hurry to rush through the approval to build KLIA East @ Labu? Has it got anything to do with Abdullah Badawi’s term as the prime minister coming to an end in March 2009?
2. Is the construction of KLIA East @ Labu a purported attempt to shore up and safeguard the political future of a young and ambitious politician?
3. Why build KLIA East @ Labu when KLIA is still grossly under-utilised until today? (KLIA was originally designed to handle 125 million passengers a year but is now only handling about 25 million.)
4. Why build KLIA East @ Labu when the government has already built LCCT in Sepang and spent a total of almost RM244 million for the seeming exclusive use of AirAsia? (The sum includes the RM123.9 million used for its extension and upgrade as recently as 2008 last year.)
5. Why build KLIA East @ Labu when it will be a threat to public safety when its location is dangerously close to busy KLIA and LCCT in Sepang with a straight-line distance of only 10 km between them when ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) strictly recommends that the minimum distance between two airports should be at least 40 km?
6. Why build KLIA East @ Labu when it will be at a much further distance away from the Klang valley where far more passengers will hail from?
7. Why build KLIA East @ Labu at such great cost for the exclusive use of one airline – AirAsia?
8. After the construction of KLIA East @ Labu is completed, will LCCT in Sepang be abandoned?
9. What is the synergy between the businesses of Sime Darby (a GLC) and AirAsia (a private company) that makes good sense for both companies to consider coming together to build KLIA East @ Labu and hope to make a success of it?
10. Sime Darby does not own enough land in Negeri Sembilan for building KLIA East @ Labu which will require about 3,000 acres. So from whom will Sime Darby be buying land? Who are the owners of this land? Are they cronies, family members and/or people who are friendly and personally connected with Sime Darby and AirAsia?
11. If KLIA East @ Labu is apparently a joint-venture between Sime Darby and AirAsia, does AirAsia have the fund for this massive RM1.6 billion project when the company has suffered heavy losses for hedging aero fuel price and has to take delivery of 150 Airbus planes at an average of 1 plane per month?
12. Is it too far-fetched to consider that KLIA East @ Labu is perhaps built to help accommodate the parking need of AirAsia’s Airbus planes as they are delivered?
13. AirAsia sells air tickets in advance as far ahead as 1 to 2 years which is equivalent to deposit-taking. What will happen to this money which belongs to the public in the event AirAsia goes under because of its heavy commitment and undertaking in the construction of KLIA East @ Labu?
14. If AirAsia is purportedly doing well and has the fund to build KLIA East @ Labu, what are the reasons then behind all the foreign investors selling off their shares in AirAsia?
15. What is the reason for EPF to be the biggest investor of AirAsia, a JV partner in the construction of KLIA East @ Labu with Sime Darby, and why does EPF continue to buy shares in AirAsia when its share price continues to dip south?
16. Does Sime Darby and AirAsia have the fund to sustain the maintenance of KLIA East @ Labu when it will cost, on average, about RM40 million a year to maintain an airport?
17. Is the reason for EPF to be a major shareholder in AirAsia, which has entered into a JV with Sime Darby to build KLIA East @ Labu at great cost, so that when this massive project needs to be bailed out EPF will be there to do so with the rakyat’s money?
18. Even though the construction of KLIA East @ Labu is claimed to be a Privately Funded Investment venture, should the authority throw caution to the wind and compromise on public safety by giving its approval?
Despite the seemingly beneficial economic development it brings to Negeri Sembilan at first glance, should the authority in all honesty in the name of public safety, public convenience and public interest be conscionable to give its blessing and approval for the building of KLIA East @ Labu for some –
