Oh No !!!!!Another Stupid Act By Zambry!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zambry puts RM9 billion Vale deal at risk

By Leslie Lau

Consultant Editor

KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 – Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Kadir’s announcement yesterday of a whopping RM9 billion investment in Perak was premature and could jeopardise the deal with Brazil’s Vale, the world’s second largest mining company.

The Malaysian Insider understands the Vale’s management has not even received board approval. Perak DAP chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham also slammed Zambry for what he described as a publicity stunt by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

Vale could also face censure from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) where the company is listed over the premature announcement, even though the Perak mentri besar did not name the company.

Zambry said yesterday that the investment, which was to set up an iron ore distribution centre for Asia in Perak’s Manjung district, could possibly be one of the state’s largest to date.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider that the company had been in talks with the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government for nearly a year before yesterday’s announcement by Zambry.

This was confirmed today by Ngeh, who was a senior executive councillor in Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin’s PR administration, which is still locked in a battle in the courts over control of the state.

“It must be put on record that the said company was in negotiations with the Pakatan Rakyat Perak state government before the latter was immorally, illegally and unconstitutionally overthrown by BN.

“I hope the BN state government will not be continuing its policy of announcing many multi million or billion ringgit projects to paint a good picture of the government,” Ngeh said in a statement today.

Zambry also claimed yesterday that the talks with Vale were in the final stages and that an agreement was set to be signed next week.

However, The Malaysian Insider has learned that Vale has no plans yet for any definitive announcement.

Sources in New York also confirmed that the company had been originally in talks with Nizar and had only recently met Zambry.

It is understood that there are still a number of hurdles to sealing the deal, including land approval and other matters.

Ngeh, who had been a party to the earlier talks with Vale, also posed a number of questions for Zambry regarding the deal.

These include concerns over whether the land in Manjung had already been converted for industrial use from its current tourism use status, and whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report had been completed.

There are also question marks as to whether an agreement for the acquisition of the 1,300 acres of land in question had been completed and whether the plot was state-owned or privately held.

“The Perak Pakatan Rakyat Government has a policy to announce the implementation of projects only if it has been finalised and ready to take off as we hold firmly to our principle that the people must not be misled.

“Many have lost money investing in lands surrounding projects announced by BN which did not materialise,” said Ngeh.