What to do about costly flops

R. Nadeswaran, theSun, 21 November 2007

Just after Kuala Lumpur hosted the Commonwealth Games in November 1998, an announcement was made to the effect that eco-tourism in Selangor will be revived in a big way with the regreening of the Paya Indah Wetlands Sanctuary.

"Not long ago, there was hardly any wetland left. It was close to annihilation by a vast variety of human activities. But it is making a return, thanks to some hard, dedicated work. Located in the Kuala Langat district, the 3200ha wetland sanctuary has shaken off the detritus left behind by sand, tin and clay mining activities, and blossomed again into something close to its natural splendour," the New Straits Times then reported.

When it opened three years later, the then Malaysian Wetlands Foundation (MWF) chief executive officer Muralee Menon was quoted as saying the sanctuary's proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport will bring foreign tourists in droves.

A viewing deck atop a hillock gives one the opportunity to gaze over the shimmering Petaling Lake, Driftwood Lake and the Main Lake. "We are thinking of converting the tin dredge on Petaling Lake into a museum of sorts," Menon was quoted as saying. The cost was then estimated at RM4 million but today, nine years later, the cost has ballooned to RM68 million (plus a few outstanding creditors and lawsuits), and the sanctuary is closed. There's a bail-out in process but everyone is interested in finding out why it failed and how taxpayers' money went down the drain. Menon was the sole signatory to some of the cheques, which although not illegal, was not a prudent practice, said financial experts.

Menon has more or less disassociated himself from the project including its failure and losses, declining comment by saying: "They can say anything they want."

But he has not gone into hibernation or hiding as many CEOs of failed projects have done. He maintains a high profile and is the advisor to the Cabinet Committee on Sports and is said to be setting a cancer hospital in Subang.

But it's not as issue of Menon or any other individual. It's an issue of getting down to the bottom of the project and how it ended up in the current mess. Our system and some of our administrators have a tendency to sweep everything under the carpet and our citizens seem to have short memories, forgetting such issues after a short period of time, by being distracted by yet another scandal.

But Paya Indah was built with the people's money and money from well-wishers who believed in re-creating a sanctuary, which is sadly lacking in this part of the country.

So, what next? We just write off RM68 million as "bad debts" or "business failure" and carry on with life as if the money was not spent? If we do this, it will be another saga of the "Malaysian malaise".

Similarly, shouldn't someone be bothered about the RM17 million (plus other expenses for field upgrading, accomodation, etc) spent on the World Youth Cup in September?

We were told that RM17 million was the "bidding fee" (whatever that means) and the tournament was supposed to be part of the Visit Malaysia Year programme. But judging from the crowd which turned up at the various stadiums to watch the matches, it was nothing more than the equivalent of five busloads of locals.

So, why did we have to spend that kind of money? Firstly, it is not a "recognised" tournament in the same class as the World Cup or the Asian Cup or the World Under-21 championships. Secondly, it was an inter-club tournament and more importantly, did it bring any benefits to the country or the game?

Even at the launch of the tournament, the youth and sports ministry was in the know about the pitfalls in venturing into such a tournament, but then, someone had already signed on the dotted line, committing the government.

Now that it has been proven to be a complete flop, no one has said anything except that the spin-doctors have moved into over-drive, claiming that the "coaching clinics conducted by the towns have benefitted youngsters". Pure bunkum! What can you teach in a two-hour session or in two one-hour sessions?

But does anyone care how our money is spent? No, it's not their money — it is OUR money through the taxes we pay. And yet we are told that we cannot question their wisdom on how OUR money should be spent.

So what do we do? Just sit back and cry over the bad and costly decisions made? That's precisely how they want us to conduct ourselves! Doing or saying anything more would lead to you being branded as an anti-national or unpatriotic, and they take pride in labelling you so. And the majority, who has no courage to stand up to such nonsense, will be cowed into submission. Others will have to carry on regardless, even if they challenge you to stand in the next elections.

R. Nadeswaran is concerned that millions are being spent on wasteful projects and that no one is being held accountable for such abuse and misuse of money and power. He can be reached at citizen-nades@thesundaily.com