Monday, January 02, 2012

Did KPRJ's Johar Salim oppose MACC investigation into IIB?


Iskandar or whatever it was called before had been under our radar since Tun Dol announced it as his idea back in 2006.

It is a wrong place to be involved professionally or commercially. It doesn't matter how big a name is thrown in, how giant a company to be involved, so-called billion investment brought in, claimed big name consultant or fool proof system put in place. No one is going to believe it is clean and efficient.

Iskandar is laden with the inexperianced and incompetent but academically padded resume of Tingkat 4 boys!

Even Wan Mohamaed Firdaus attempt to pacify some bloggers sometime back got tarred in feathers. He is the activist of IDEAS, and private assistant of MB Johor Dato Gani Osman. The bloke hardly knows 10% of what's happening and wrongdoings in Iskandar, be it IRDA or IIB.

Imagine ... Gani appointed this undercook 28 year old as Director to check on Tingkat 4's Dato Zaki Zahid, recently appointed Managing Director of Johor Corporation's Kulim

The IIB scandal exposed another of Gani's undercook appointee, but he is significantly older than 28 years old.

An extract from Big Cat's expose on IIB caught my attention, read below:
My friend was among the large group of mid-level management staff who left IIB last year. At that time he told me that he can't stand anymore the antics of a group whom he called "the inner circle".

"If only Arlida had stood up to them," he said, in reference to former IIB CEO Arlida Ariff whose husband was charged with alleged IIB-related corruption several days ago.

Then my friend pointed out something which have been bothering me all along.

"How come no one really linked all this with Khazanah?" he asked before proceeding with several other questions.

"All those people in the inner circle, aren't they appointed to their position by the Khazanah board of directors? I know one of them who started as an assistant vice president and within just over two years had become a director and heading one of IIB's major projects. The guy is just a marketing person and has no technical background. What were the Khazanah BOD thinking when they appointed him? Or was there something else behind it?"

"Another thing is that the E&Y people were send in by Azman (Mokhtar). How sure are the MACC that they did not cover up for Khazanah?"

Seriously, I had these doubts also about Khazanah back then, especially when I observed the manner of how Arlida was told that her services were no longer required by IIB. The way Khazanah distanced themselves from IIB at that time piqued me. I still remember how the Khazanah people washed their hands off the whole thing. What actually made me angry with them at that time is the fact that everytime IIB did well previously, they would had always been there to share the limelight.
So, ABITW is not the only one questioning the competency of Khazanah organisation and claiming nothing impressive of them than their indivial cademic resume. It s part of NMY's rotten network.

When one turn the heat on one side, it is likely to spread, unless one do something about it. Maybe by disclosing something.

Rocky Bru disclosed the following:
In March, Earnst & Young had just completed the audit ordered by Khazanah, the major shareholder of IIB (it owns 60% of IIB, EPF and Johor state government's investment arm Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) each owns 20%).

It was reported that E&Y found cases of mismanagement and criminal breach of trust, among other things. Khazanah chief Azman Mokhtar, or Amok to his friends and to bloggers, studied the E&Y report and discussed with stakeholders the next course of action.

Aides said he was keen to invite the relevant authorities in and let them probe deeper the findings of E&Y. Nothing to hide and he wanted the rogues out. He was proposing that Khazanah/IIB lodge a police report and another to the MACC.

Strangely, not everyone was in favour of his idea. A representative from Kumpulan Prasarana (who was, in effect, the representative of Johor state government) who sat on the IIB board, in particular, was not too keen to go along with Amok's idea.

But Amok was adamant and the IIB Board called in the cops in April this year to investigate tbe findings of E&Y.

A certain Board member was adamant that a report to the MACC was unnecessary but the MACC eventually came into the picture, nevertheless.
Who is the Prasarana representative on the Board of Directors trying to cover-up the wrongdoings in IIB which is already infamous throughout Johor?

No, it is not Wan Mohamad Firdaus. The boys is too naive to be ridiculously quick with his optimism and hope. It seemed Zaki Zahid is heard to be on the prowl claiming the Sultan is in his pocket. See The Benchmark here.

Some compilation of background profile was made. Read the following:
Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar - Chairman (Represent Khazanah)
Ganendran Sarvananthan (Alt Director: Zaida Khalida binti Shaari) (Represent Khazanah)
Dato Ghazali bin Mohd Ali (Director of Binapuri and Boustead Hldg, Not known to represent who.)
Johar Salim in Yahya (COO KPRJ, Director/Exe. Chairman, PLS Plantations Bhd (formerly Pembinaan Limbongan Setia Bhd), Chairman and previous MD Iskandar Waterfront, and Director/Exe Vice Chairman Tebrau Teguh Berhad. Represent KPRJ.)
Md Yusof bin Hussin (Former MD of I&P berhad, GM PNB, Director Tebrau Teguh Berhad, Glenealy, TH Pantation, CGC berhad, LaFarge Malayan Cement, etc. Chairman of sub of BNM, TPPT Sdn Bhd and SDRC. Not known to represent who.)
Mohamad Lotfy bin Mohamad Noh (Former GM Property Investment, EPF. Managing Director of Kwasa Land. Have controversy, read APA here. Should represent EPF.)
Dato Ibrahim bin Taib (Senior Management, Deputy CEO of EPF. Should represent EPF.)
Jamil Hajar bin Abdul Mutallib (Iskandar Waterfront, Executive Vice President, CIMB Group Holdings Berhad, former Director Scan Associates, sub of Mesdaq. Should represent Khazanah.)
Mohd Nadziruddin bin Mohd Basri (CFO Khazanah, former Sr Mgr E&Y, Former GM of Project Management & Assurance and Airport Operations, MAS. Should represent Khazanah.)
Dato Syed Mohamad bin Syed Ibrahim (President/CEO)
Our investigation leads us to Iskandar Waterfront which we believe was the Ekovest's former Danga Bay project that was taken over by IIB. It's profile from the Company's website reads below:
IWD’s development is within Iskandar Malaysia (IM), a national project driven by the Federal Government and the Government of the State of Johor.

IWD is a Government-linked company (GLC) through the shareholding of Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB) at 51.2% and Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ- an investment arm of the State Government) at 12.3%. The balance of 36.5% is held by Danga Bay Sdn. Bhd., a private property development company.

At the same time, Khazanah Nasional, the investment arm of the Federal Government, holds 60% of the shares in IIB. The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and KPRJ hold 20% each. Incorporated on 10 October 2006, IWD has a land bank of 3,028 acres of prime waterfront land.

The previous members of the Board of Directors of Iskandar Waterfront were:
Arlida binti Ariff (Chairman)
Ganendran Sarvananthan
Dato’ Lim Kang Hoo
Johar Salim bin Yahaya
Madam Lim Hoe
Adlan bin Ahmad
Rosenah binti Mohd Hassan
Hisham bin Zainal Mokhtar
Omar Siddiq bin Amin Noer Rashid
(alternate director to Ganendran Sarvananthan)
Who are the members of the present Board of Directors of Iskandar Waterfront? If the present website is the right source, then these are the current members:
Tn Hj Johar Salim Yahaya - Chairman
Dato’ Lim Kang Hoo - Managing Director
Lim Keng Cheng
Wong Khai Shiuan
Hj Jamil Hajar Bin Abdul Muttalib
Dato Dr.Shahir Nasir
Norliza Suleiman
From one go, it is noticeable that this outfit is now controlled by the people of KPRJ and Dato Lim Kang Ho and one Khazanah rep. Lim Kang Ho is an open secret in Johor. He is widely said to be proxy or business partner of Gani.

The most worried to have police and MACC investigate IIB must be those people who benefit most and is involved in deals that can be controversial.

Mohd Yusof Husin, former MD of I&P could be another Director representing Parasarana. He was known to be close to Gani and invited to play some role in Johr on Gani's return in Johor. However, his resume shows he is on some Government committees and is not active n the corporate scene. He is probably retired.

However, Tuan Haji Johar Salim seemed to benefit the most by the recent management shake-up after Erlida and four Senior VP, including Haji Rostam Razali that admitted guilty, left a year ago.

He has moved from a Director to be Chairman of a company controlled by MB's alleged caicai or Chinese whose a Malay macai.

Being on board of Tebrau Tegas and playing an active role, Johar Salim is alleged to be involved in some controversial deals. It is still not the talk of Johor but merely an undercurrent. The hint given is no one in Johor can resist the demands of Tebrau Tegas.

Members of the Board of Directors and Management of Khazanah Nasional Berhad could be off the hook for awhile until something else surfaces. Already, it is disturbing to see Khazanah absorbed failed executives like Tengku Azmil of formerly MAS and Hisham Hamdan of formerly Sime Darby.

Johor has been in a the spotlight lately with Gani's wrong apppointments to put former Tingkat 4 Dato Zaki Zahid at the helm and a Tingkat 4 clone, Wan Mohamad Firdaus as board members.

Johoreans are screaming murder as to why Kulim is selling QSR and KFC to a joint venture company between Johor Corp (51%) and private equity fund CVC Capital Partners Asia III Ltd (49%).

The JV company has appointed CIMB Investmen Bank Bhd as advisor. That is bad news.

The memory of Khazanah and Tingkat 4 manouvre to takeover 51% of Pantai with Parkway holding 49& but even to buy a pencil requires Parkway's approval, is fresh in the mind of many. Later Khazanah paid a hefty premium to buy over control of Parkway.

Maybe someone should make a report to MACC and let them investigate all of Johor's investment arms like Johor Corporation and KPRJ.

Suddenly many Chinamen close to politicians have active role in GLCs. Could there be hanky panky going on at the tail end of Gani's political career?

Could that be the reason why Johar Salim was against MACC investigation into IIB? He could be worried that it will trace itself to KPRJ and other Johor investments, especially Danga Bay or now Iskandar Waterfront?

Iskandar Waterfront got big plans with Tan Sri Danny Tan's Dijaya. There is a lot to talk of Tan Sri Vincent and Tan Sri Danny Tan beyond business but into the realm of politics. PKR's headquarter is at Danny's development project.

Gani does not care because a Pakatan Rakyat sympathiser, WM Firdaus can be his assistant.

Perhaps, Johar Salim was instructed to cover-up for Nusajaya's ADUN, Datuk Aziz Sapian? He is now under investigation and widely believe he could be charged. If so, who instructed him?


* Updated: 3/1/2012 8:15 AM

12 comments:

BIGCAT said...

Dear A Voice,
why didn't u ask Johar Salim directly before posting this? Never mind, I ll try to get it myself tomorrow. Did you ask Rocky where he got the info about KPRJ trying to block the MACC probe? If it comes from Khazanah operatives, then that info is definitely dubious. They are trying to tai-chi everything to Johor. Can't u see that? Now, from this posting, I can see that they are trying to even blame Ghani Othman. These people really don't care for Johor BN's defence. All they care is their own perut. Ok, A Voice, I don't want to quarrel with u. I see what I can do about this later. Another thing, Lim Kang Ho is Ghani's proxy? My friend, I think u better double check that again. BTW, had u read the Benchmark's very brave posting? Maybe that can explain the funny Kulim's appointments.

Anonymous said...

Not surprised to see Datuk Lim Kang Hoo name. Everyone in Johor knows that MB Ghani is under his grip. Just imagine all the major property in Johor is under Datuk Lim Kang Hoo now.. Everywhere you can see.. Bye-bye BN.

Amok Penipu said...

ABITW, are you in Khazanah's pocket? If anything, Johar tried to protect Johor's interest in Iskandar. KPRJ has stake in Danga Bay, and they have always wanted to get the area be gIven tax incentives for investors. But what happened, along came Khazanah and they gobbled all the tax incentives for Medini, which smacks right in the middle of jungle.
The worse thing is, to justify applying for tax incentives, they created a drama by claiming 2 Arab consortiums bought up Medini for RM 4.2 bil, who were supposed to bring in investments from Middle East. But where are these Arabs? Even Amok himself was bragging foolishly about petro-money.
What happened now? Isn't Medini land now being bought by various Khazanah subsidiary companies? What's the point of having tax incentives if Medini were effectIvely Khazanah playing by itself?
Amok and his boys should know people are no longer stupid. This Medini land scheme is so stinky that even IIB corruption cases now look petty.
To Amok - stop lying and get the hell out of Khazanah!! Please leave Johor state alone.

A Voice said...

Amok Penipu

You've not been reading this blog have you?

I woudn't be calling Khazanah incompetent if I am in their pocket.

Opps ... RPK turn around again.

Anyway keeping on coming

Anonymous said...

All these smoke and mirrors wayang kulit are just to confuse people so that the the truth is not revealed. MACC should just follow the money trail and see where it leads to :). Then we can see where the card falls.

Anonymous said...

Haji,

Lim Kang Hoo is also founder of EKOVEST Bhd.
In the 80s , Hishamudin Hussein used to work there as a director.
Presently, one director is named Mohd Salleh Othman. Any relations?

wak

Anonymous said...

Baca pasal Lim Kang Ho di

http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/jcorp-jumbo-mumbo/

Anonymous said...

There are conflicting views on who the alleged rogues are in the now infamous IIB scandal. 'A Voice' is lifting up the traces that lead to MB Johor. Meanwhile 'Bigcat' is making attempts to portray MB akin to a saint.

The truth must be told and exposed for public consumption. It is only the MACC that can do that by conducting thorough investigation without fear and favour, leaving no stones unturned, and bringing the culprits to justice irrespective of their positions.

But one thing I fully agree with the 'A Voice' that 'Iskandar is laden with the inexperienced and incompetent but academically padded resume of Tingkat 4 boys.'

To recap, these were the half-bred boys who had schemed to humiliate TDM by cancelling the crooked bridge at the eleventh hour though it had been agreed earlier. In its is place is the Iskandar corridor, now embroiled in controversies, to pacify the Johoreans who had allegedly protested against the crooked bridge.

ZMS

Anonymous said...

Voice, in reality Johar Salim was in no position to make decision for KPRJ. He is basically a budak suruhan of Lim Kang Hoo and Ghani. So rumours that Johar opposed MACC investigation into IIB are totally untrue.

Anonymous said...

Bigcat, if Lim Kang Ho is not Ghani's proxy, perhaps you can share with us the correct information please. cheers.

Anonymous said...

Brader, you wrote "Imagine ... Gani appointed this undercook 28 year old as Director to check on Tingkat 4's Dato Zaki Zahid, recently appointed Managing Director of Johor Corporation's Kulim"

Fyi, it was Zaki and Ganen of Khazanah that recommended WF as special officer to MB Johor in IRDA. Hence, it was Zaki that bring WF into Kulim. Zaki used work for Hishamuddin, ex-Director of Ekovest, same group as Dato Lim Kang Hoo.

Anonymous said...

Interesting Blog Article I really enjoyed reading it... A Voice, few pointers if I may;

Any ideas how Dato' Lim got hold of his footprint in Johor in the first place? Should dig that up..

Then you will be able to grasp just the tip of the iceberg, but from there you'll see who's the puppet, who's the puppet master, all the players in this game who's being played...

Next, differentiate Iskandar Waterfront Development, Iskandar Waterfront and Iskandar Coast and dig its board composition. Try linking them.. You'll get even more confused afterwards. Pointers to next great article, I hope..

Do share with us what you'll find. Happy hunting!

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