TELITI: Naming Names – Seeing whose big money is behind the Kampung Berembang demolitions
Someone gave me a few leads re: who the Kampung Berembang developers are, and I decided to follow them up.
The internet tells us that regarding the development of the land where once the 60 houses of Kampung Berembang stood, home to normal decent Malaysians, these parties were involved: Perspektif Masa Sdn Bhd, Cahaya Kelang Construction (which is a subsidiary of Acmar International – probably the primary culprit), and the Selangor State Government.
Here’s how I know this. One of the clearest indicators is this map (from the Acmar International Property Division website) which places the location of the Berembang development project squarely where Kampung Berembang (RIP) used to be. The Berembang development is also listed as one of the “Future Projects” on the Cahaya Kelang Construction website (scroll down a little bit in that box in the bottom right), where the client is Perspektif Masa Sdn. Bhd.
The involvement of the Selangor State Government is only a little less straightforward. The state government’s property development arm has previously worked together with Perspektif Masa in another area with a similiar name – Kampung Berembang Hilir, which is a different location. That project involved building 694 low-cost apartments near Jalan Aman in Gombak. We’ll go more into how the Selangor government is involved later on.
I decided to take the time to see what all these people are about. Let me start with Acmar International, owner of Cahaya Kelang Construction, who will be doing the actual building.
Acmar International is a huge corporation with an extremely diverse portfolio which includes running schools and hospitals (both which require extensive licensing, etc). It’s founder, Mr. Tee Leh Teck started out in rubber, moved to automotive industries and eventually grew a huge business empire.
Let’s look at the board of directors of Acmar International. The board includes Mr. Tee’s two sons – Dato’ Steven Tee Ah Seng, Dato’ Johnson Tee Kim Hock. It also includes a Mr. David Tee Kim Ke and a Mr. David Tee Kim Cheong. The remaining three members include chairman Dato’ Abd. Samad bin Maharuddin @ Samat – former Special Officer (??) to the Menteri Besar of Selangor, (persumably) his son Mr. Mohammad Khairul Dato’ Abd Samad and one Dato’ Mustapha Abd. Hamid, who was former Senior Assistant Director in the Prime Ministers Department. (See also an older webpage indicating the board of directors with slightly different info).
Getting an idea of who we’re dealing with? Good, let’s move on.
So who is this Perspektif Masa? It took RM 15 to the Registrar of Companies to find out.
The company report indicates four directors. Three of these four are as follows: Samat @ Abd Samad bin Maharuddin, Dato’; Tee Ah Seng, Dato’; Tee Kim Hock, Dato’. And Perspektif Masa’s two sole share holders? The two Dato’ Tee’s.
The Tee family has its roots in Klang, and in the growing of their business empire, seem to have developed extremely close ties with the Selangor State Government. This is perhaps most clearly evidenced by the large number of projects undertaken by what appears to be a Joint Venture company – PNSB Acmar. PNSB stands for Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd, which is the development arm of the Selangor State Government.
From the Cahaya Kelang Construction site pages on completed, present and future projects alone, one can find seven constructions projects for PNSB Acmar. This is just for construction – I haven’t looked into other business ventures PNSB and Acmar are taking together.
Another RM 15 got me the company report of PNSB Acmar. They have failed to submit their accounts since 2000, which is a punishable offence I understand. In that last statement of accounts, if I read the report correctly, the company was losing RM 16 million dollars. A substantial amount of that I assume is Selangor taxpayer money.
Other ties between Selangor and Acmar that I have heard about only amount to hearsay at this point.
I daresay the relationship was close enough such that the Selangor State Government could have intervened on behalf of the villagers and called for a delay should they have so wished. Instead, whether or not the directors were aware of it or not, this happened:
in order to make these rich men (all but one from only 2 families) richer faster:
I’m sure we would welcome any justification or explanation from Acmar International or the Selangor State Government.
Here are the two company reports (you owe me 30 bucks! :)
Perspektif Masa Company Report
A quote from the Acmar website:
Our Key Beliefs:
‘ACMAR SEMANGAT BOLEH’ Always maintain ‘Acmarian Can’ high spirit
› Constant respect for people
› Quality in all our dealings
› Be disciplined in our behavior
› Continuous upgrading of our knowledge and skills
The reality?
If you google “Kg. Berembang” you can get some old stuff like this Malay Mail article regarding struggles against development and eviction from over a year ago.
Ok for now, I’ll try to keep tabs on this.
hi there nat, thanks for highlighting the rot in our country. keep it up!
Nice work. Haiya – If I’d known you were going to ROC, I would have asked you to find out about “Sanctuary Gasing”!
Thanks Faren, appreciate it!
Eli – thanks! Actually, I did the whole thing online. Just follow this link to get similar reports for any company from the ROC.
All you need is the company name, and a credit card (with a limit more than RM 15 :), and voila! It’s a *slightly* wait, but not unbearably long at all!
If anyone else needs help finding stuff, just let me know!
[...] A tip off and internet search brought bangkit.net to the website of developers Cahaya Kelang Construction Sdn Bhd, whose list of future projects (scroll down) include projects in Kg Berembang. Cahaya Kelang Construction is a member of Acmar International, who is on a “mission to become a world class organisation.” They appear to be doing work for Syarikat Perspektif Masa Sdn Bhd. (Nat Tan has done a little more analysis here) These are most likely the groups ultimately responsible for the destruction and suffering pictured below: [...]
[...] In the scuffle’s aftermath, she required CT Scans and Ultrasounds. The bills are estimated at RM 1,000 – RM 2,000. I am hoping Acmar International will volunteer to foot her bill. A 22 year old girl. As Tony Pua asks, where are the keris-wielders who are so keen to defend the Malays? DS Hishamuddin? Encik Hashim Suboh? [...]
Nathaniel,
Thanks a lot for your noble effort. Much appreciated. Thank for the pics of the bastards too. Well, I’ve got to say that the Tees do look like a bunch of Chinaman gangsters.
Nathaniel,
Keep up the good job. Maybe we can meet someday, who knows …bye for now …
I have bookmarked your blog. Excellent!
thanks for the kind words TP! I’ve heard some things regarding the gangsterism angle, but am trying to confirm before I write anything… Anyway, I appreciate your readership! :)
[...] PUBLIC APPEAL: Acmar International (the super-rich developers behind the Kg Berembang demolitions), why don’t you come to show your support as well? Can you spare the time? A few cents to help ease the suffering perhaps? [...]
[...] PUBLIC APPEAL: Acmar International (the super-rich developers behind the Kg Berembang demolitions), why don’t you come to show your support as well? Can you spare the time? A few cents to help ease the suffering perhaps? [...]
[...] Links to News and Commentaries: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [...]
I stole from your cheap warehouse in the steal of the night.
As quid pro quo (frankly I stole this phrase from someone else’s, hope it’s apt hear!), Desi did a li’l promo for thy cyberhome — just remember I always claim 30& CON…!:)
Truly appreciated the effort you put in seeking the truth..As a person who were and still have deep connection to KG.Berembang..your articles reflect a near live scenario on what happened…And the mishaps did not stop at the eviction only..Try to find out the political party leaders involved in this fracas and it will blow your mind out on what happened and the figure involved in this high valued land..Keep up your good deed my friend..You will hear from me often…
[...] Response: Deva – Kampung Berembang Gotong-Royong, Palestine, and Highland Towers; MPAJ = Mesti Penduduk Akan Jahanam! Published by nathaniel tan November 25th, 2006 in Malaysian Politics, Civics, Government Negligence and Impunity. Tags: Acmar International, Civics, Government Negligence, Impunity, Kampung Berembang, Malaysian Politics, MPAJ, Reader Response. Tags-Acmar International, Civics, Government Negligence, Impunity, Kampung Berembang, Malaysian Politics, MPAJ, Reader ResponseReminder to all, tomorrow, Sun, Nov 26th, Gotong-Royong at Kampung Berembang! Hopefully, we’ll be able to see some helpers from Acmar International :) [...]
telah banyak terjadi penempatan seperti ini. penduduk terpaksa mempertahankan hak sendiri. naik turun mahkamah dengan duit sendiri. rata-rata penduduknya adalah golongan perpendapatan rendah. pemimpin hanya omong kosong. tiada pembelaan terhadap mereka seperti ini.
pemimpin tipu!!!!!!!!!!!
ya, aku setuju dengan susue… :( jom undikan penipu keluar!
[...] Refresher: PNSB = Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad = the state’s development arm. PNSB-Acmar = a joint venture company with Acmar International = the people who own Perspektif Masa and Cahaya Kelang Construction Sdn Bhd = the people ultimately behind the ‘development’ (read inhumane, cruel destruction) of Kampung Berembang (see here for simple proof). [...]
THE RULING GOVERNMENT SHOULD LEARN FROM THE LESSONS OF PEOPLE’S POWER IN THE OTHER COUNTRIES THAT LED TO THE DOWNFALL OF THE ELETED GOVERNMENTS. FOR BARISAN NASIONAL, DO NOT TEST THE PATIENCE OF THE RAKYAT AS MANY OF THE REVOLUTIONS IN THE LAST TWO CENTURY STARTED WITH THE PEASANTS’ UPRISING. MAY BE IT IS GOOD FOR THE RULING PARTY MEMBERS TO WATCH THE MOVIE “DR. ZHIVAGO” AND LEARN FROM WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO MALAYSIA IF THE GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO OPPRESS THE POOR.
MALY ALLAH SELAMATKAN OUR BELOVED COUNTRY. AMIN!
wow! that was thorough job you have done. bravo! keep up the good work. ;)
mana ada nak buat perumahan
kg berembang dirobohkan untuk buat sekolah
sdr ahmad,
mengikut peta dan laman ini, memang ada perancangan untuk bikin kondo di sana, bukan sekolah.. :(
For me ‘Half past six’ govt is not relevent 4all Malaysian, heartbroke when i see this happens in ‘Islam Hadhari’ country. Vote out those culprit and bring a new hope on the reformed party.
The worst leaders are those who look clean on the out side but full of s..t in the inside.
[...] The developers should be held fully responsible too – greedy, heartless thugs that they are. In case anyone needs it, here’s a reminder of who the big shots are who are profitting the most from crushing the poor into homelessne…. [...]
I just happened to browse through the links and found this blog. Well, I thought I’d like to share some inputs.
Some 30 or 40 years ago, the Government awarded a group of senior civil servants plots of land at or around the Kampung Berembang area for them to build residential homes as a reward for their dedicated services throughout their working life.
Some 100 or so recipients were involved, many dead over the passing years. At least 32 of them were issued Qualifying Titles and the matter just fizzled out as more of them died over time. Their next of kins faced brick walls everytime the issue is raised.
May I ask who actually owns land in that area?
My late father was one of those awarded about 5000 sq ft in those days and told his children (me included) to follow up on the matter before he died , but many documents went missing in the process. I still have some valuable documents pertaining to the matter and intend to pursue my inheritence. None of us have given permission neither expressed or implied for any party to squat on our piece of land.
Can anyone in here help me out? Many thanks.
Great work Nat. Would volunteer to help you out with research, minus the credit cards..
[...] Just in case we’ve forgotten: here’s who’s behind Kg Berembang. [...]
Wow! Followed a few links and found these Kg Berembang posts from November 2006. I only started my blog in December 2006 so all this is like new to me! SHIT!!! That’s all I can say, Nat… now I know why they hauled you in for 4 days. Dendam lah. Obviously, you stirred up enough muck on this case to put several people behind bars including Khir Toyol. But we’ll need to clean up the jamban – I mean, the judiciary – first. Damn good sleuth you are, Nat. Anwar’s fortunate to have energetic young minds like you and Ginie on his staff. Tabik.
these are the same people who used the state to compulsorily acquired the lands owned by the See Hoy Chan Group and Sime Darby group in Klang where Jaya Jusco is now. If my memory serves me right, the valuation of the land was based on agri use ( although its clear as daylight that the land is of commercial potential) and after the said acquisition was approved and converted into commercial use. by just doing that, the land value goes up multi-fold and the losers were the land owners.
well, what comes round goes round. then came the 1998 crash, and you can still see some abandoned buildings sticking out like a sore thumb there. apparently, they lie low during the bad times and is now back in vigour to develop lands again in connivance with the state. this time, squatters were mercilessly evicted so that these developers have the lands for development.
the last time, the MB who assisted them in the land acquisition was the Taib with 2 Mohds. The losers were the landowners who are mightily rich. Now, its the dental guy with the name of Toyol. And the losers are the poor without land.
Business 101 lesson for Malaysians. Get close to the Selangor MB if you want to get rich fast.
refering to yh // Nov 15, 2007 , I will like to add more info. During that period when the land being developed, See Hoy Chan got back their money. At that time 1977-78, double storey house 24′ x 65′ cost only RM60,000 and that was considered expensive. To make money and at the same time to pay See Hoy Chan and some kopi-o or grease the machine, d/s house price at Bandar Baru Klang shoot up to RM 150,000. That was whenever u want to buy house on the 1st day of sale, the developer will say “sudah habis jual” . Actually, the house are there and they are sold by real estate agent with under counter money of
RM20,000 to RM60,000. So now you know why our house is very expensive??? To those stupid Malaysian who vote for BN, please wake up?????