Johor sultan now Melaka Gateway's second largest shareholder

After years of setbacks, the Melaka Gateway project appears to be back on course.

Putrajaya is lending support to components of the project, and the developer now has an influential backer - the Johor sultan.

Checks by Malaysiakini on project developer KAJ Development Sdn Bhd’s company records showed that Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar is now its second-largest shareholder.

The monarch had acquired a 30 percent stake in KAJ for RM6 million, while his long-time business partner Daing A Malek Daing A Rahman has a 10 percent stake valued at RM2 million.

The shareholder information was last updated on Jan 11.

READ MORE: Royal businesses - who is Daing A Malek?

KAJ chief executive officer Siow Yoke Foong remains the largest shareholder, with 35 percent of the shares worth RM7 million.

Another shareholder, Ong Tun Tse, holds 19.98 percent of the shares.

Malaysiakini found that Siow and Ong have the same address and are believed to be related.

The other two shareholders are an ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Siow Seng Choon (5 percent) and M Yahya A Hamid (0.0125 percent).

Sultan Ibrahim’s entry into the Melaka Gateway project means that the monarch has interests in two major sea reclamation projects along the Malacca Straits - with the other being the Maharani Energy Gateway off the coast of Muar, Johor.

The Ong family is also involved in both ventures.

For the Maharani Energy Gateway project, besides Sultan Ibrahim and Daing A Malek, the third partner is K Energy Sdn Bhd - which is co-owned by two youths, Eric Ong Zong Ren and Valerie Ong Huei Zhen.

The pair, both in their 20s when they became the monarch’s business partners, are registered at the same residential address as Tun Tse and are believed to be related to the elder Ong.

READ MORE: Pair in their 20s are Johor sultan's business partners – here's how

Eric is also listed as a director in two KAJ subsidiaries - Melaka International Cruise Terminal Sdn Bhd and MG Cruise Terminal Holdings Sdn Bhd.

China’s companies the main contractors

Launched by then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak in 2014, the RM43 billion Melaka Gateway project covers 246.45ha and aims to create three artificial islands to host, among others, a deep-sea port, cruise and container terminals, marinas, shipbuilding and repair services, maritime industrial park, hotels and condominiums.

The project was originally planned to be completed by 2025.

In May 2017, during Najib's visit to China, Malaysia and several Chinese companies signed nine commercial agreements, with an estimated investment of US$7.22 billion (RM31.3 billion).

The Melaka Gateway was one of those projects being invested in.

At that time, a memorandum of understanding was signed between KAJ, China Electric Power Construction Group - a subsidiary of the state-owned Power Construction Corporation of China - Shenzhen Yantian Port Group and Shandong Rizhao Port Group to jointly develop the Melaka Gateway.

However, the then-opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan targeted the project, with its leader at the time, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, citing it as one example of Najib allegedly selling off the country’s land.

When Harapan came into power, the project was put under review.

However, it was Malacca’s BN chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali who pulled the plug on the project in 2020 after KAJ failed to complete the reclamation works on schedule.

KAJ then sued the Malacca government but was unsuccessful.

The setback would be short-lived as Sulaiman's political rival - Malacca exco in charge of industry and investment Rauf Yusoh - reinstated KAJ as the Melaka Gateway project developer in March last year.

The Melaka Gateway project is now part of the Malacca Waterfront Economic Zone which involves an expanded reclamation effort involving an area along 33km of Malacca's coastline.

On Sunday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke revealed that KAJ applied to revive the cruise terminal component of the project and it is in the process of obtaining licence approval from the ministry.

Loke said that he personally has no problem supporting the continuation of this project but will discuss it with the Malacca state government first.

He noted that the reclamation works were halfway done and if abandoned, would be a loss to the state’s economy.

The project is among several ports along the Malacca straits that have already been built, are in progress, or are being proposed.

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