Amid PAS criticisms, PKR Youth says Kota Madani a viable investment

Summary

• PKR vice-chief Taufiq Johari defends the Kota Madani project in Putrajaya against PAS Youth, saying it is not merely an elitist vanity project but a long-term, people-centric investment.

• He clarifies that the RM4 billion project is fully funded by the developer, with Petronas subsidiary Putrajaya Holdings involved based on business viability, not political pressure.

Kota Madani is not simply an elitist vanity project, but an economic ecosystem with long-term benefits, PKR vice-chief Taufiq Johari told PAS.

Slamming PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden’s criticism as “superficial”, Taufiq said Putrajaya’s Kota Madani development project is an investment that upholds the people.

In a statement today, the Sungai Petani MP also rebutted Afnan’s condemnation of the involvement of Putrajaya Holdings, a Petronas subsidiary.

“The involvement of Petronas’ subsidiary is part of the company's commercial strategy, not political coercion.

“Putrajaya Holdings is involved on the basis of business viability, with the opportunity to create sustainable returns through the development of competitive properties and ecosystems.

“The government has always safeguarded the interests of Petronas as a state-owned company with integrity and has never made Petronas a ‘political ATM’ (automated teller machine) as alleged.

“The construction of Kota Madani does not involve public money but is fully borne by the developer,” he said.

‘Elitist’ narrative

Yesterday, Afnan slammed the project as an “elitist” initiative which could place further financial strain on the nation amid subsidy cuts and a worsening fiscal deficit.

He claimed that while the project is said to have an estimated total cost of RM4 billion, the government quarters project based in Putrajaya could carry a higher financial commitment if financed through a private finance initiative.

Noting that the private finance initiative model has long been criticised for obscuring the government’s actual debt burden from the country’s official fiscal records, he pressed the government to address the actual cost of the project, including annual commitments over the next 20 to 25 years.

He also criticised Putrajaya Holdings’ involvement as the main driver of the project, at a time when the national oil and gas firm is seeing declining profits, workforce reductions, and growing investment pressure in various sectors.

In Taufiq’s statement, he addressed Afnan’s claim that the government prioritised “such a lavish project” over allocations for education, healthcare, food security, and social welfare.

He pointed to the Budget 2025, which increased the allocation for education by RM58 million compared to the previous year.

The government also increased the allocation for healthcare by RM41 billion while providing direct cash aid through the Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) and the Rahmah Necessities Aid (Sara) policies, he added.

“The government is working in a balanced way to protect the people, implement fiscal reforms, and at the same time invest in the future of the country,” he said.

Without giving any specifics, he fired back at PAS by alluding to failures in states administered by the Islamist party.

“The Madani government does not want to repeat the failures that occurred in Kedah and Kelantan under the PAS administration, which announced investments but failed to implement them, did not provide a strong economic foundation to attract real investments and neglected the basic infrastructure that is the basis of economic growth,” he said.

Smart city

On June 26, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim launched the Kota Madani project, a major smart city initiative designed to be people-centric and environmentally sustainable.

It was previously reported that the project is based on a build, lease, maintain, and transfer concept, which will see the government not directly bearing maintenance costs of the quarters, but paying through a long-term lease.

The first phase of development for the project covering 41.28ha in Precinct 19 is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

It will feature 10,000 high-density vertical residential units for more than 30,000 residents.

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