A nationwide full lockdown will take place from June 1 to 14 and all sectors will not be allowed to operate during this period except the essential economic and service sectors.

A special National Security Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday (May 28) made the decision to implement the full lockdown for 14 days.

In a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), it said the decision was made following the steep climb of Covid-19 cases that breached the 8,000 mark with more than 70,000 active cases on Friday.

“So far, 2,552 people have died and the number is climbing.

“The existence of new and more violent virus variants that are highly infectious also influenced today’s decision.

“With the steeply increasing numbers, our hospital capacity nationwide to treat Covid-19 patients is also getting thinner,” the statement read.

Should this first phase of lockdown succeed in reducing the number of daily cases, the PMO said the government would move on to the second phase that allows some economic sectors to open provided no large gatherings are involved and physical distancing is practised.

“Phase Two of the lockdown is expected to last for four weeks after Phase One ends.

“After that, Phase Three would start with the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) where no social activities are allowed.

“Most economic sectors would be allowed to operate according to strict SOPs and physical distancing at workplaces, which will be limited,” it said, adding that the decision to move from one phase to the next is subject to risk assessments by the Health Ministry.

“The assessment would be made based on the daily cases and the hospitals’ capacity nationwide to treat Covid-19 patients,” it added.

PMO also assured that the government would prevent the country’s public health system from collapsing.

“Various support and assistance will be given to the Health Ministry to increase the hospital capacity throughout the country.

“The government will also increase the number of vaccines to be administered to the people over the next few weeks to expedite herd immunity in the country.”

Following the government’s decision to implement a full closure of the economic and social sectors, PMO said the Finance Ministry would detail the assistance package to the people and affected businesses.

“An announcement on this assistance package will be made soonest.

“We call on all Malaysians to remain disciplined and always adhere to the SOPs to break the chain of Covid-19 infections.

“It is best to stay home to flatten the Covid-19 infection curve,” it added.

Source: TheStar.com.my

The proposed first phase of Sunway Valley City integrated development by Sunway Property at Paya Terubong in Penang Island. It is strategically located along Jalan Paya Terubong, about 8km to George Town and Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

The initial phase of this project will see the construction of a 24-storey commercial building, featuring 237 units of shop offices and 205 units of office suites. There will be 3 levels of car parking podium.

This project is still in its planning stage and pending approval. More details to be available upon official launch.

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : Sunway Valley City, Paya Terubong
Property Type : Commercial
Total Units: 237 (shop offices), 205 (office suites)
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Sunway City Sdn. Bhd. (Sunway Property)

– A letter from SRS Consortium to FMT

First, we would like to reiterate that for both the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) and the Penang South Islands (PSI) reclamation projects, it is the state that is the asset owner.

As the asset owner, the state has to “take into consideration the need to adequately fund the PTMP and reclamation costs” and “consider the matching of supply of these lands to balance with demand from the market”.

This statement clearly highlights that under the project delivery partner model of the RFP, the state is indeed the ultimate funder of both the PTMP and the PSI projects, and apart from assuming all the financing risks, it also has to contend with the full assumption of market risks in selling reclaimed land real estate.

Upon the formation of the Pakatan Harapan federal government in 2018, the state had a renewed belief that it would be able to obtain federal government allocations and/or loan guarantees to fund its PTMP components, just like how other states had similarly benefitted for their own transport infrastructure.

For example, the LRT systems within Selangor’s borders and the Pan-Borneo highways in Sabah and Sarawak.

Subsequently, in early March 2020, the RM10 billion loan guarantee that was promised for the state’s LRT was withdrawn.

Nonetheless, the state still took the view that:

• It would pursue with the federal government for the LRT loan guarantee to be reinstated given that it is purely a development expenditure for social needs of its rakyat; AND
• The reclamation of the first island of PSI (Island A) must proceed forthwith to provide a pivotal addition and extension to the state’s E&E hub in Bayan Lepas, and attract E&E foreign investors – in doing so, there would be an influx of foreign direct investments (FDI) and tremendous job creation for Penangites, especially among the highly skilled.

To achieve the second objective of kick-starting the PSI Island A reclamation as a major economic impetus for Penang state, especially as a post-pandemic economic stimulus, it was agreed that a joint venture be formed between SRS and Penang Infrastructure Corporation (wholly owned by the Penang state government) to enable SRS to fully fund the Island A development, while the state is absolved of all financing risks and costs of Island A’s development.

Even though the state has fully absolved itself of all risks, it still retains a substantial stake of 30% to reap in any rewards or profits from the Island A development.

Not to mention, the state can wield substantial influence of control via its 30% stake and its authority over all land matters, to ensure its socio-economic and land planning objectives are all met, for the people of Penang.

For federal projects, typically any privateer would reap 100% of the reward, given it would absorb 100% of the risks. For independent power producers, or highway concessions or developments, this is the underlying prevailing equitable rule.

Yet, the Penang state has clearly done one better here for itself.

Under this 70:30 joint venture arrangement, the state insisted on an enterprise, not only with a strong enough balance sheet to fully shoulder the funding liability of RM4 billion to deliver Island A, but also with the requisite track record of delivery of large infrastructure projects, on time and on budget, all the time.

Furthermore, the same enterprise is also responsible for delivering Phase 1 of the reclamation.

This will ensure that the project gets delivered and Penang benefits from the ensuing FDI, estimated at over RM70 billion and the ensuing GDP contribution and job creation is estimated to be RM100 billion and more than 300,000 jobs, respectively, where at least half are knowledge-based and highly-skilled jobs, over a 30-year development time frame for the three PSI islands.

And to ensure the delivery of the lands is done on the most cost-efficient basis, the state had also insisted on the appointment of an independent checking engineer, to oversee that cost estimates and work programmes are reasonable, fair and equitable.

Thus, there is clearly no double dipping or leveraging off the state in any way.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com

The notorious COVID-19 has robbed the life of yet another prominent individual in the Malaysian property circle.

Paramount Corp Bhd chairman and executive director Datuk Teo Chiang Quan, 72, passed away at 6.38pm two days ago due to health complications after battling COVID-19 for 21 days.

“It is with profound sadness that Paramount Corp Bhd announces that Datuk Teo Chiang Quan passed away this evening (May 24, 2021) due to complications from an unexpected illness,” read a media statement from Paramount last tonight.

Over and above being an astute businessman and property developer, Teo can be described as a nation-builder, described Paramount Corp of Teo.

Starting his career in Malaysian Rice Mills (MRI) in 1976, which was renamed to Paramount Corp Bhd in 1980, Teo has shaped Paramount into a public-listed company that focuses on property, coworking, education, F&B and office solutions provider business.

According to Paramount Corp’s director profile, Teo joined the board of Paramount on Jan 19, 1977 and has been active in the management of Paramount Corp since 1981 when he first served as the principal officer of the group’s insurance division.

Over 29 years, Teo had held the positions of group managing director & group CEO), deputy chairman prior to assuming the company’s chairmanship on June 8, 2015.

During that period, he had been instrumental in shaping Paramount into a reputable and financially-sound by guiding the management in the formulation of the group’s long-term strategic plans, particularly in land banking, and ensuring effective communications with stakeholders.

He was also a firm proponent of Paramount’s core values encapsulated in T.R.I.B.E (Trust, Respect, Integrity, Bravery and Energy) and was highly committed to ensuring the delivery of meaningful and sustainable outcomes for all stakeholders.

He was named as “FIABCI Malaysia Property Man of 2019” at the FIABCI Malaysia Property Award 2019 for his contributions to the property industry over the years.

His son, Benjamin Teo Jong Hian, is an executive director of Paramount Corp.

Source: FocusMalaysia.my

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