8/11/11 LOVE BITE FOR NAJIB....

(Was this not a Malay Fishing Village in the past? The Portuguese, drove the Malays to the rural, and now, did they not missed their Opportunity Cost? Did all these now not creating a bipolar societies among the Malaysian? Najib, my Love Though for you to ponder!).

Many times I stood by the windows at the dinning place on the 23th floor of Wisma Selborn, Tabung Haji, Kampung Baru when I have the meeting there. I glazed to the east. At a distance, stands the gigantic Petronas Tower. A cluster of towering metallic urban trees, separated by a natural milky as well as all those Mahathir-Samy's metallic stream from the old bushy ecology sprawling, really a touchy panorama. Between me and the Twin Tower, that is the glossy lives of Kampung Baru. It sparked the memory of my late grandfather, Kecut Othman, whom probably used to roam in the bushes of the then Kg. Baru of the 1920s after his tiring work as the Surveyor to the British master. My mind wander and wonder, keeping them as they are, at their fight for not wanting to be developed as long as the deal not to their interest as they thought. What actually are in their mind?

(2) My mind wander and wonder. My Mathematic bubbling, 1 acre = 43,995 sq ft = 4,040 sq meters, and it goes wild as this:

My Speculation:

Each landowner has 15 points land on average ie about 6,600 sq ft.
Land price, probably RM1,000/sq ft, that make them millionaire of RM6.60 million a lot. Not bad. Every household in Kampung Baru is a millionaire. A multimillionaire.

Average home in KL size 1,500 sq ft. For an apartment (average) probably the price range RM150,000-300,000 each. Thus, on a lot of 6,600 sq ft, about 4-5 units apartment could be built. At a profit of RM30,000-50,000/unit, thus a floor of 4-5 units cluster would give a total profit of RM 120,000-250,000/floor. If the building height is about 30 storey, then the conceptual profit would be at a range of RM3.60-7.50 million for every 15 points lot. But of course for a location such Kg. Baru, other higher prices could be achieved, even ranging from RM500,000 to RM2.00 million for each unit.

Sound fair. Buy at RM6.60 million, then built and sale to make RM2.00-7.50 million profit. Free market. Win-win.

My Conception:

Doesn't matter what is the figure,the true figure, but surely everybody knows Kg. Baru is a prime land, now and later. Loosing Kg. Baru, meaning loosing the Malays Prime Urban Presence. If we remember the history, when the British colonized our Country, by leaving the Malays to their subsistence livelihood, in fact they are pushing us out of the urban sphere, which once we occupied. They did compensated us. Fair compensation. At market price. But then what happen to us? Did we not lost our urban ground? Did we not being displaced? Do we learned? Or we simply submitted to the World Order, let the market decides all.

(ii) Let us be fashionable to the Global dance, thus we left to the Market Economy to determine our fate, without realizing, would those give us the advantageous or not, or are we not interested to revisit those, based on time and circumstances.

(iii) It is not about a Malay chauvinistic. It is about racial balance. The balancing act. Is Malaysia, Malaysia is the Malay is not there? Just like, is woman a woman without man, try, take away man from woman, what left would be a wo, a cattle cries. Doesn't is not the same, takeout Malay from Malaysia, what left is sia in Malay mean useless, or ia, a singular. Why? The root of Malaysia are the Malays. Thus the Malays strength and presence is important for the harmonious lives sustenance of this country.

(iv) I believe, the Malays in Kg. Baru must be compensated in accordance to the present market value. With such compensation, they are free to set their direction, including a priority to buy any properties that being constructed. A proper profiling of their interests, needs, and current advantageous must be well taken care. We must always remember, at current location, firstly they enjoyed all the economic advantageous eg business, working, leisure opportunities, and etc and all these must be properly profile and valued.

(v)We must not approach the redevelopment of Kg. Baru purely from the pure Free market or Capitalist style. Under such circumstances, a one off market Price compensation will be the ideal and fair practice. Worldwide hold to such idealism. But is that ideal?

(vi) My notion, pay them the prevailing Market Price, but they must also not loosing their future Opportunity Cost. Say being uprooted from Kg. Baru, would they have the privilege to continue to enjoy all those that they are enjoying now? In fact now, I would say, those advantageous are their rights. These rights then I would say are their Future Opportunity Cost, and it is a moving value. Thus, the real value is very tangible. So how then to determine all these.

(vii) Let take our approach now from a Welfare Economic stand. No hard to modified or even blend all the prevailing systems. Dr. Mahathir may realize this. In organ transplant, we normally take other organ to blend with all the exiting body. We don't change all. Thus, in this case, Free Market is the main body. But leaving Free Market to operate on it own, without intervention is just like leaving a damaging organ in a body. Thus, to save the body, the damaging organ must be replaced or a healthy organ must be transplanted.

(viii) Taking health science as a paradigm, I would then suggest, let Free Market as the body, and Welfare Economy as a transplanted new organ so that the body ie the Free Economy not only would survive well, but most important the whole body sustenance will be for ever. Thus, I suggest, on top of the Free Market Compensation, the whole of the Kg. Baru community must be given, a free conditional equity in the profits gain of the whole development. But again these profits gain, must be both short and long term gain. It must not be one off.

(ix) For such purpose, I would say, the Malays should have no problem since over the years our Tun Razak, Tun Husein Onn, and Tun Mahathir (sorry I must also mention about Tun Abdullah, but let me say it in bracket)had created established Organization such as Tabung Haji, Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Sime Darby, FELDA, EPF, Pension Fund, Dana Harta, Khazanah, etc. These Organization not only should be able to form a conglomerate to develop and they must also hold the properties in this Kg. Baru for a long stream return especially for the current landowners there. The MayBank, CIMB, BI, name it, whatever Malaysian financial system, they should pool their resources to develop and thus to sustain the ownership of the Malays in the area.

(x) To me, both Mahathir and Najib dreams to make Malaysia an International Islamic Finance House could be easily realize in this Kg. Baru. Kg. Baru should be developed into the International Islamic Financial Center. It can house immerse Islamic Business Houses, and let emulate the development of Madinah by Muhammad in such undertaking. I believe, with such a vision and determination, not only Kg. Baru will be forever Malay, but it is a Global Malay and a global pacemaker.

(4) The redevopment planning of Kg. Baru must not be left to the professional planners only. The all walk of lives of the Malays must be involved. The people of Kg. baru must never be too stingy to think and feel, Kg. Baru is for Kg. Baru, it must be seen in a broader Malays interest. The redevelopment must really having the characteristic of the true and holistic identities of the Malays. With such, the spillover effect definitely would cross the mixed racial gains. It must be a Pride of the Nation just like Forbidden City of China or the Grand Pyramid of Egypt.

(5) Last, but not least, let me put this Love Bite for Najib, Muhhydin, Rais, Mustapha, and Shafie Afdal (which to me a great blend of Malays: Bugis-Javanese-Minang-Pattani-Sulu), Kg Baru is not only about those resident in Kg. Baru, it is a National Malay Pride and Heritage. So don't loose our ground. I'm thinking other things elsewhere as well.

Matang Jaya, Kuching
15 Nov., 2011