The Malaysian Insider reports that Malaysia’s government-linked companies (GLCs) are snapping up properties in London - and paying hugely inflated rates to the tune of tens of millions of British Pounds.
Not only that. It seems that our GLCs are also by-passing property agents and going direct into the deals with the sellers, which is certainly a foolish move, too. By doing so, they end up paying more than what they would have secured by going through the realtors.
The unseen agenda appears to let commissions be paid out to the go-between. Truly very Malaysian indeed!
And another point to note is that Malaysian GLCs are competing amongst themselves to outbid each other in the frenzy to snap up the noted properties in London.
Never mind about all of the above pointers for the time being. But first let us ask ourselves some very fundamental questions - minus all those complicated ‘consultant’ rebuttals we could very soon expect, too.
First, what is this hasty frenzy or madness if you may wish, in suddenly wanting to snap up so many properties at such eyebrow-raising sums and right in London where original owners seem to be in rush to drop the hot potato assets?
It smells of a directive that goes something like this: Go, get all that you can at any price and do so quickly will yah!
Second, why pump such huge sums of public funds in private properties in a foreign land? Are there no such investment-cum-development opportunities in our own homeland?
Or are we saying that we cannot invest in properties or developmental projects here in Malaysia because already there is an over-built situation and there are far too many buildings that are begging for occupancy?
Add to that another justification - local investmet commitments means zero commissions to be made lah.
Third, are property purchases in London the wisest choice for the rakyat’s money and future? Is the return on investment (ROI) merely plugged to and motivated by the exchange rate between the Euro to Ringgit? If it is, does it not stink of a lazy, greedy, myopic Malaysian mindset?
What if the Euro crashes? What if the London property market crashes? If it is a going-good concern, why are Londoners abandoning their ‘gold mines’ in the first place?
Before we get the “we have done our homework” answers, let us also consider the long-haul interests.
Why not plough the money in our own land?
To begin with, if our GLCs are so cash-rich, why are they not hiring the best brains to plough the money in our own land? That would create more jobs; more resources; more food; more wealth - yes, more of everything as it positions us into a more self-reliant and self-sufficient economy.
No? Pray mamma mia, can someone tell us the truth.
Why are the GLCs not pumping the excess funds used to secure over-inflated properties - to the tune of tens of millions of Pounds, when we could get into research and development in the particular industry that the GLC was set up in the first place and to spearhead?
The citizens are already struggling with the 20 sen hike in fuel price. The ensuing price hike of all goods and services is adding up to tens of ringgit per day per person expenditure. And now with the goods and services tax (GST) on the horizon, can you imagine how the rakyat are being yoked to gasp for daily relief from the oppressive and precarious financial burden?
Remember the yesteryears when we got more than our fingers burnt when the global financial crash did strike? All the forex and tin ore investment (or hoarding), using public money ending up in a squalor and yet no one accounting for it except the national blaming of George Soros.
Either something is definitely not right or “semua nya okay”. Perhaps, the on-line media portals should get together and hold an on-line forum of sorts involving the best brains in the world and weave the output for all to know.
Simply put, is it not time to do an ‘expose’ so that Malaysians are saved from yet another mega scandal in time to come.
