Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project : Bumiputera interests unprotected ?

بسم الله الر حمن الر حيم

Government property developer UDA Holdings Berhad dismissed claims it is ignoring the interests of the Bumiputera community in the billion-ringgit Pudu Jail redevelopment here, saying it is rebuilding its financial health for their future good.

UDA Holdings chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed was responding to claims by an Umno leader and party newspaper Utusan Malaysia that he was ignoring their interests.

A similar charge against Kuala Lumpur’s future train service this month forced the project owners to adjust its pre-qualifying conditions to allow Bumiputeras to participate in the country’s largest infrastructure project.

“I want to stress this project, which will be built on 7.76 hectares of land in Kuala Lumpur, will not alienate the interests of the Bumiputera community at all,” Nur Jazlan said, pointing out that only one out of 11 foreign and local companies which bid for the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project was a fully-owned Bumiputera company.

 “Actually, in this BBCC development project UDA Holdings Bhd protects the interests of Bumiputeras by ensuring that qualified Bumiputera contractors and UDA Holdings Bhd join this project,”

He stressed all the Bumiputera companies who were interested in the project worked together with non-Bumiputera companies that did not have a majority stake in their partnership.

Penang Umno deputy chief Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir was quoted as urging UDA Holdings last Friday to award the project to a Bumiputera company instead of a company from China, pointing out that UDA Holdings was a government-linked corporation (GLC) that was formed to assist Bumiputeras.

He also lambasted UDA Holdings for considering the China company, claiming that there were many qualified Bumiputera companies.

Nur Jazlan, however, stressed that UDA Holdings would select a contractor that could generate best returns for the company as well as the Bumiputera community as a whole.

He also said today that UDA Holdings could not fight for the Bumiputera cause as before due to declining financial health.

“Everyone needs to be aware that UDA Holdings Bhd at this time is not the same as it was 40 years ago when UDA was a renowned property developer.

“Currently, UDA Holdings Bhd has financial problems and a very critical land bank because since UDA Holdings Bhd was listed on Bursa, this company has not received any funds or land banks from the government at all,”  Nur Jazlan noted UDA Holdings could no longer compete with private property companies.

The two-term Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmaker stressed UDA Holdings would be careful and transparent in developing the Pudu Jail site to avoid abandoning the project halfway, like the Bandar Wawasan project in Kampung Baru.

“UDA Holdings Bhd also wants to avoid a repeat of the Plaza Rakyat project when another company was given rights to the land, causing the project to be abandoned and the landowner no longer had rights to the land,” He said UDA Holdings had strict conditions prohibiting companies from depositing the land for the BBCC project as security.

But he lamented that local companies could not afford not to do so as they needed a source of funds. He stressed that UDA Holdings’ terms of reference for the project were to reduce financial risk, as well as to ensure that his company would be the main developer and have the final say in the project.

Deputy Finance Minister Senator Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said last year that the BBCC mixed development project would include a transit centre, serviced apartments, office space, recreational areas, hotel and commercial space.

He said the development in the Golden Triangle was divided into six phases and will be developed in stages over a 10-year period starting from the first quarter of this year.

Awang Adek also said 40 per cent of the development would house residential properties while the remainder would be for commercial space.

Pudu Jail, which once boasted the longest mural in the world painted by its prisoners, was partially demolished last year.

Putrajaya cannot keep throwing money at agencies tasked with furthering the Bumiputera economic agenda without consideration for profit unlike in the past says Umno leader Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed .

The UDA Holdings Bhd chairman warned there will come a day when the government whose finances were  being stretched over time , would no longer be able to dole out grants to statutory bodies like Majlis Amanah Rakyat Mara as it does currently . He said this was particularly true now as the Najib administration grapples with ballooning subsidy costs and a widening budget deficit following a sharp rise in global crude oil prices .

The money is to be used in a more efficient manner because the government cannot afford to give funds like it did before . The accountant  told ,It has to have a return as well because you need to reinvest whatever that was set aside for the Bumiputera so that the Bumiputera can have future sources of income instead of being spent 100 per cent .

The Pulai MP said the expectation that everything must be given on demand to further the Bumiputera cause must give way to a more nuanced allocation of funds UDA has come under attack from Umno and Utusan Malaysia for allegedly abandoning the Bumiputera agenda after it chose not to appoint Bumiputera joint-venture turnkey investors for the proposed Bukit Bintang City Centre located on prime land in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle.

Nur Jazlan denied the accusations pointing out that the corporatised government agency had no choice but be competitive to survive as it no longer received any direct assistance from the government .

Most people don’t know that UDA Holdings no longer receives any form of special treatment from the government whether in the form of grants or cash injections or sale of land at nominal prices .

 The wholly-owned unit of the Finance Ministry whose assets are estimated to be worth RM2 billion is over RM900 million in debt and free cash flow of RM90 million .

 UDA also owes  the government RM104 million paid market prices for the Pudu Jail land and still has to pay RM134 million in land premiums for the property by September .

UDA  needed to be prudent and work with strategic partners instead of contractors as the cost of developing Bukit Bintang City Centre could reach as high as RM4 billion .

The UDA board has selected a partner to develop the prime piece of land but several Malay businessmen fear it could go to a foreign developer instead of them as part of the Bumiputera economic policy.

Uda Holdings Bd today denied allegations that it is sidelining Bumiputera companies in undertaking the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project at the former Pudu Jail site in the city.

Its chairman Nur Jazlan Mohamed said UDA Holdings Bhd had invited 14 foreign and local companies which had indicated interest in the project to submit their proposals.

He said of the 14, 11 companies presented their proposals to UDA Holdings board on March 7 and 8 and that all were owned by non-Bumiputeras except for one.

"As such, the allegations hurled by Penang Umno deputy chief Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir at a press conference yesterday that UDA Holdings is sidelining Bumiputera companies in the project is totally baseless" He added that UDA Holdings would ensure Bumiputera interests would be protected in undertaking  the project.

Urban Development Authority (UDA)@UDA Holdings Sdn Bhd.

Established by the government on November 12, 1971, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) was given the responsibility to promote planned urban development. After 29 years of successfully fulfilling its responsibilities, UDA was incorporated on September 1, 1996 and became UDA Holdings Sdn Bhd.

The principal activities of the Company are in investment holding and property development while the principal activities of the Group are in land and property development, property management and leisure industry.

Penyata Kewangan Kumpulan UDA Holdings Berhad untuk tahun kewangan berakhir 31 Disember 2010.

Perolehan  : RM 488,587,000

Keuntungan sebelum cukai : RM 37,722,000

Keuntungan selepas cukai : RM 30,838,000

UDA Holdings Berhad (“Kumpulan atau UDA”) masih menghasilkan keputusan kewangan yang membanggakan berbanding pencapaian tahun 2009. Bagi tahun kewangan 2010, Kumpulan mencatatkan perolehan sebanyak RM488.6 juta dengan peningkatan sebanyak 53% berbanding RM319.2 juta pada tahun kewangan sebelumnya. Pembangunan Hartanah masih kekal sebagai segmen utama yang menyumbang kepada peningkatan perolehan ini.

Kumpulan UDA berjaya merekodkan keuntungan sebelum cukai sebanyak RM37.7 juta dengan lonjakan sebanyak 777% berbanding RM4.3 juta bagi tahun kewangan sebelumnya.

Berdasarkan prestasi perolehan Kumpulan yang memberangsangkan bagi tahun kewangan 2010, Kumpulan optimis dalam meningkatkan keuntungan bagi tahun berikutnya dengan memanfaatkan semua sumber sepenuhnya. Pada masa yang sama, ianya dapat memaksimumkan keuntungan bagi setiap projek pembangunannya.

Datuk Nur Jazlan Tan Sri Mohamed dilantik sebagai Pengerusi UDA berkuat kuasa 16 Jun 2010, berkata saya berdepan dengan tugas berat apabila dipertanggungjawabkan untuk meletakkan kembali organisasi sebaris dengan peneraju industri hartanah yang utama pada masa kini. Justeru, saya menyedari bahawa UDA perlu menjalani proses transformasi dan perubahan segera, demi memastikan kelangsungannya sebagai pemaju hartanah terawal yang menyumbang kepada pembangunan bandar-bandar besar di Malaysia.

Selain itu, UDA perlu meningkatkan peranannya sesuai dengan peredaran masa dan bersaing secara kompetitif serta menjadi kayu pengukur kepada pesaing-pesaingnya. Oleh yang demikian, Ahli Lembaga Pengarah telah memutuskan untuk melaksanakan proses penstrukturan semula organisasi melalui penubuhan Jawatankuasa Hala Tuju dan Penambahbaikan supaya UDA kembali fokus kepada matlamat asal penubuhannya

Jawatankuasa Hala Tuju dan Penambahbaikan yang dibentuk dipertanggungjawabkan untuk meneliti perjalanan operasi UDA serta menggariskan penambahbaikan yang perlu diterjemah seiring dengan situasi semasa dan masa akan datang. Menerusi pelan transformasi yang dirancang, UDA telah mengenal pasti empat (4) langkah yang perlu dilaksanakan segera untuk memastikan kelangsungan UDA:-

• Menambah Bank Tanah

Penambahan pemilikan tanah-tanah baharu yang strategic di sekitar Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Pinang dan Johor Bahru untuk dibangunkan dalam jangka masa 10 hingga 15 tahun akan datang sebagai jaminan untuk pembangunan yang konsisten di masa hadapan.

• Penstrukturan Semula Struktur Organisasi

Modal insan yang berkualiti merupakan nadi penggerak kepada sesebuah organisasi. Maka, Pelan Transformasi Sumber Manusia diwujudkan bagi meningkatkan keterampilan sumber manusia untuk memantapkan organisasi. Cara kerja kini yang menjurus kepada Pengurusan Personel akan diganti dengan Pengurusan Sumber Manusia yang lebih strategik bagi menepati keperluan semasa dan memastikan kelangsungan UDA di masa hadapan.

• Mewujudkan Sistem IT Bersepadu dan Menyeluruh

Teknologi maklumat amat penting dalam mewujudkan sistem kerja yang lebih cekap dan selaras dengan kehendak semasa. Oleh itu, UDA sedang melaksanakan Sistem Intelligence Human Resource System (i-HR) dan Monitoring of Application & Performance System (MAPS) secara berperingkat dan dijangka siap sepenuhnya pada tahun 2011.

• Meningkatkan Aliran Tunai Syarikat

Baki aliran tunai syarikat perlu ditingkatkan untuk membiayai projek-projek yang sedang dijalankan dan juga yang akan datang. Untuk itu, Ahli Lembaga Pengarah telah memutuskan untuk menyegerakan penjualan produk hartanah melalui pendekatan yang lebih inovatif.

Untuk perancangan akan datang, UDA berhasrat untuk:-

• Mengambil peluang dalam Program Lingkungan Besar Kuala Lumpur/Lembah Klang (Greater KL/KV). UDA dilihat mempunyai kelebihan untuk menjana lebih keuntungan melalui projek pembangunan semula bekas tapak Penjara Pudu yang terletak di dalam lingkungan kawasan pembangunan tersebut. Buat masa ini, pelan pembangunan projek sedang dalam peringkat kajian semula untuk disesuaikan dengan pembangunan di sekitarnya.

• Sebagai syarikat milik penuh Kerajaan, UDA juga sedang mengenal pasti tanah-tanah milik Kerajaan Persekutuan yang strategik dan berpotensi untuk dibangunkan di bawah Pelan Penstrukturan Semula Sosial.

• Usaha menaik taraf beberapa kompleks perniagaan UDA sedang dirangka bagi meningkatkan pulangan kepada Kumpulan. Proses menaik taraf ini penting terutama bagi kompleks milik UDA yang terletak di kawasan strategic laluan Transit Aliran Pantas (MRT) yang bakal dilaksanakan kerajaan dalam tempoh lima (5) tahun lagi. Sementara itu, pembinaan kompleks perniagaan terbaharu dan berprestij UDA di Johor Bahru yang akan dikenali sebagai Angsana 2 juga sedang dirancang bagi menarik kemasukan pelancong terutamanya dari Singapura untuk berbelanja di Malaysia.

• Merancang pembangunan projek tanah wakaf dengan kerjasama Majlis Agama Islam Negeri.

Bagi pihak Ahli Lembaga Pengarah, saya ingin merakamkan setinggi-tinggi penghargaan kepada mantan Pengerusi UDA, YBhg Dato’ Hilmi Haji Abdul Rashid atas jasa dan khidmat yang telah diberikan kepada syarikat. Tidak lupa juga, penghargaan tulus ikhlas ini saya tujukan kepada YBhg Datuk Latifah Datuk Abu Mansor atas sumbangan yang telah diberikan semasa berkhidmat sebagai Ahli Lembaga Pengarah UDA. Saya juga ingin mengalu-alukan pelantikan Puan Siti Zauyah Md Desa sebagai Ahli Lembaga Pengarah UDA yang baharu. Semoga kehadiran beliau dapat membantu UDA dalam memacu perjalanan operasi Kumpulan untuk masa hadapan dengan jayanya. Saya juga ingin merakamkan penghargaan kepada pemegang saham, Ahli Lembaga Pengarah, agensi-agensi kerajaan, pihak berkuasa dan rakan perniagaan UDA atas kerjasama dan sokongan yang berterusan kepada Kumpulan.

Akhir kata, kepada pihak pengurusan dan kakitangan yang sentiasa berdedikasi, saya yakin dan percaya komitmen untuk menaikkan produktiviti dan menghasilkan produk yang berkualiti akan dapat meningkatkan nilai tambah dan menjamin kelangsungan Kumpulan.

Datuk Nur Jazlan Tan Sri Mohamed

Pengerusi

UDA Holdings Berhad

Corporate Vision

To be a dynamic property conglomerate.

Corporate Mission

To be an excellent, reputable and committed property conglomerate which also provide the needs of the community and interest of the shareholders.

Corporate Positioning

We are a caring, efficient and dynamic property conglomerate; committed to provide innovative products and services of the highest quality.

Today, led by a board of experienced directors and highly qualified professionals, UDA is committed to enhance its competitiveness and to partake a bigger role in urban development thereby contributing to entrepreneurial growth in line with the national aspiration.

The drive to firmly establish the company was achieved when it changed its status to a public limited company with effect from July 14, 1999, to UDA Holdings Berhad. The company was listed on the Main Board of Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) on November 18, 1999.

UDA is very committed and responsible to manage property development effectively to ensure our products fulfills customers' expectations, abide to the authorities and legal requirements.

UDA plays an important role in supporting bumiputera agenda initiatives such as increasing of bumiputera property ownership in urban areas, development of competitive bumiputera entrepreneurs and strenghtening of bumiputera's human capital.