For background reading of the project and its cancellation, please read this NST report - Sultan Ibrahim scraps Mersing project
For video, this is what it was supposed to be
It was a sad news indeed....probably as sad as the news that Ungku Safian Abdullah, the chief executive of Radiant Starfish Bhd who is the leader of the project had passed away, just a day before the Sultan's announcement. Al-fatihah.
My efforts to dig further into the matter came to naught as all I got were bits and pieces of information which truth were too hard to verify. Most contained materials which could be deemed to be seditious in nature and therefore could not be included in this posting.
Since Johor MB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman is currently not in the country, I guess an official explanation on the matter would simply have to wait till his return.
Nonetheless, what I however got for now from a senior State government official is this -
"We had done everything humanly possible to ensure the success of that Mersing project . It's just so unfortunate that this thing happened. This, however, does not mean that the state government will give up in its effort to bring development to the people of Mersing. We definitely will not let them be left behind by the development in the other districts of the State. We hope the people of Mersing could bear with us as we will do our best in our effort to bring development to their district."
I hope the State government official was right. I would be so disappointed if what happened to the Mersing Laguna project set a precedent which would dampen the enthusiasm of potential investors who want to come to Johor.
p.s Dear readers, please refrain from making any seditious comment. Thank you.
The Mersing Laguna project looked so impressive on paper and its really sad that it did not take off. Maybe we can invite a renowned developer from Singapore like Banyan Tree who have impressive resorts to come and develop Mersing.
ReplyDeleteJust one question. Why isnn't the MB who is not making the announcement on the termination. Quite unprecedented for the HRH to make the announcement.
Another project that the China developers/Investors have abondoned and called it quits is the Leather City at Senai, near the airport.
Any reasons why the Arabs took the money and went off never to return, then we have the Leather City and now Mersing Laguna.
I would very much love to see their business plan. We never had the resources of the likes of Pak Arabs. How does it plan to recoup that RM22 billion investment is really mind-boggling. Definitely majority of the cost will go into dredging and reclamation. So, if you spend more money to dredge and reclaim, how much money is left to build hotel/homes?
ReplyDeleteAnd then, why does people want to go to Mersing, what more with limited access through land, sea, or air?
And then, to raise such a huge amount of investment, say 70% of the GDV is the actual cost. that works out to about RM15b. Who would dare finance such a huge project? Unless there's a casino license approved, then that could be a different story.
15 billion ringgit of cost... how do you raise that kind of money? which financier (even done through syndication) would dare finance such a huge amount? is the land going to be charged? there's no land yet, only sea water, not until dredging and reclamation work is completed.
And finally, first sign of trouble, they had a hard time raising their paid-up capital to 200 million.
Call me skeptical, or pessimistic, but these are valid questions that desperately need answer. No offense to the recently demised CEO.
In the name of transparency, I hope their business plan could be unveiled.
hmmmm...
ReplyDeletesome readers posted their comments and 'sentiments' on my posting about mersing laguna.
however, i believe the sultan made the right decision after taking all factors into consideration.
unless there is a capable and potential developer wanting to salvage the project, i personally believe his majesty will have no objection.
of course he wants the best for johore, esp the people of mersing...
Been asking the same question all along.
ReplyDeleteWhy the artificial islands when Mersing has natural islands and lagoons ready.
Well now my plan for a intergrated food court and sports/games centre at Kampung Makam will have to
give way to the spouse's orginal plan for goat breeding.
Jadi gembala kambing la saya...waduuhhhhh..
wak
A new spectrum and a new dilamma has just unfold in our history!! In this matter of the Mersing project who is the ruler who is the executive ,who is the business people, who is the planner who is the Economic planning unit.If all are jumbled and mixed together we have a confused and rojak system pf governance and this caused lots of confusion to the people.I shudder when he doesnt like your face !!!I thought there is a clear line between the ruler, the executive and the common rakyat who wants to be live, do business be enterprising in this democratically elected country. Aku kesian dgn orang Johor !!
ReplyDeleteAgreed with anon 3.13. We must differentiate between executive, ruler and rakyat. Everybody must know they roles and functions to avoid a so call rojak system. Most Johorean know about this. If you know our roles and function and understand how the system work, we will see a very nice and systematically functional sistem demokrasi raja berperlembagaan.
DeleteDead man no talk.....otherwise a lot would have been exposed. Rest in Peace Ungku
ReplyDeleteTwo things
ReplyDelete1. The project never made sense to me from the day I first heard about it. Reclamation cost alone will kill the project. Land costs in Mersing (now) are not high enough to justify the reclamation. All the revenue projections were incredible to make any sense. Cancelling the project is the right thing to do.
2. I cannot understand why it is the Sultan who cancels the project. What happened to the Executive ?
who owned mersing laguna? Radiant Starfish Bhd or Sara Timur?
ReplyDeleteDaulat Tuanku!!! A wise decision Tuanku.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, many UMNO crony contractors had lined up in Mersing. State level crooks, led by defacto Chinese MB had also sharpened his knives.
The environment of Mersing was at the mercy of these unscrupulous money launderers. Good that the EIA saved Mersing.
DYMM Tuanku should also check Pengerang and ensure it's people are not cheated and taken care of.
Negeri nampak dah balik kezaman lampau , zaman feudal, zaman one man show, zaman siapa kuat dia dapat..yang lain anggok kepala..betul aje , pak turut dan pak sanggup
ReplyDeleteDont blame nanti kenaper level Football, level hockey and level olahraga kita merudum jatuh ranking kalau dibanding masa lepas banding dgn negara lain.
Sekarang level bisnes dan level entreprenuring and risk taking kita pun akan merudum dan jatuh terutama orang Melayu dan bumi kerana projek dan idea mereka akan di sekat dan diherdik sebegitu rupa hingga semua orang tak berani dan semua orang takut..balek zaman batu dan zaman pakai cawat kah nanti kita ni???
the Anwarinas, the socialist,the psedo socialist, the communist, the republicans, the Rafizis, the Hishamuddin Rais the Manoharans are watching in glee this and that happening around us..
ReplyDeleteAGO absence is just timely, just convenient and just that re this matter and the thing is that we dont feel anything missing at it.Suggest that AGO takes a long long leave in the british isle or anywhere..we need fresh ideas, fresh breath, fresh enthuasiasm in this southern state come next GE..
ReplyDeleteI think what we need is a resort like Sun City (or some people call Sin City) with casinos and theme parks. Or have strings of beach bars that open 24 hours. That's what you must do to attract foreigners. If you don't want to attract foreigners or kafirs, then just stick to goreng pisang stalls. No need to invest so much money.
ReplyDeleteThat's why you fail.
ReplyDeleteMaster Yoda
100 juta siapa yang minta?
ReplyDeletehati2 dgn org nama DIN MAMAK. dia mengaku sbg pengarah Radiant owner projek Mersing Laguna. Dia ni putar alam kaki temberang. Minta duit utk itu ini janjikan mcm2 projek, bila duit dah kasi mula lah beri 1001 alasan bila tanya pasal projek. Kalau nak jumpa dia mesti di kelab malam dan mesti kena sediakan GRO. Selalu ckp Radiant tak bayar dia gaji kemudian minta pinjam duit. Bab temberang memang no.1. Cerita berbelit2 janji dpt pau duit. Kawan aku dah terkena beribu2 RM dan kabarnya di Johor pun ramai yg dah terkena. Katanya projek Mersing Laguna ni milik keluarga isteri dia tapi dgr cerita belakang isteri dia ada fair dgn janda dia. Memang jenis penipu isteri sendiri pn ditpu juga. Org KL ramai dah tahu tembelang dia. Hati2 dgn mamat ni, orgnya gempal2 hitam manis iras2 mamak.
ReplyDeleteini Din yg tinggal di taman perling tu kan? kalau dia memang kaki kelentong kaki kencing. aku pernah jln job pasir dgn group dia dulu memang spesis pembelit dia ni sana kona sini kona. bab betina jgn cakap lagi tiap2 mlm kat paradise usung betina. apa aja job dr dia korang jgn percaya la confirm kena belit.
Deletecakap din tu mmg pun betul...mmg ungku tu tak bayar gaji pekerja..dah byk yg cabut...cakap projek juta juta..byr gaji pun tanguh tangguh
ReplyDelete