THE RIGHTFUL HEIR TO THE THRONE OF N9

A Voice said...

Anon 1:31 pm article is reproduced and reformatted for easier read and to reduce the space taken.

HIS ROYAL GREEDINESS - http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog-e/2005/07/his-royal-greediness.htm

MALAYSIA TODAY SPECIAL REPORT ON NEGERI SEMBILAN: PART 2

A state bankrupted by its own royal family

The Negeri Sembilan royal family is known among the public at large as successful businessmen. However, in business circles, the envy is more directed towards the success of the Negeri Sembilan royal family for so long being able to avoid the impending bankruptcy and foreclosures that should have visited it many years ago. For example, take Antah Holdings, which is controlled by the ruler, Tuanku Jaafar, through his sons, Tunku Naquiyuddin and Tunku Imran. As of the end of 2004, the ruler and Tunku Naquiyuddin had pledged over RM350 million worth of Antah stocks as collateral for loans which have never been paid since the last economic crisis of 1997.

Accordingly, some of those shares have devolved to several Chinese businessmen associated with Tuanku Jaafar. They have taken control of certain aspects of Antah's business resulting in the property section of the company, which owns large parcels of land in Negeri Sembilan, now almost totally no longer in the hands of the Negeri royals.

In addition to the Antah debts, Tuanku Jaafar has personal liabilities of around RM300 million. This is by no means unusual; the Tuanku having followed in the footsteps of his father, the late Tuanku Abdul Rahman, who when ascending the throne was a technical bankrupt. Tuanku Abdul Rahman was then owing a Chinese businessman partner from lang more than RM300,000 as a result of some failed property deals. To save the newly independent state of Malaya from embarrassment, the then Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman, instructed finance minister H.S. Lee to find ways to resolve the Agong's debts.

Embarrassment averted, the Negeri Sembilan royals learned quickly that this was a profitable way to make money -- through taking loans and having it paid for by other people.

Antah had, for many years, been a very high-profile company. This was not really due to a successful business model or a shining track record but because of the social hubbub that is the Negeri royal family. Feted by high society, almost Western to the core, the part-Portuguese Negeri royals, with their flashy lifestyle, brought Antah to the core of the public imagination by the many parties they attended and the gallons of champagne they drank. They were always in Malaysian Tatler or magazines of that ilk.

Behind the scenes, Antah was really a sick company. It survived mainly on government contracts which were sub-contracted out to various European and Chinese companies associated by marriage or friendship with the Negeri royals.

Yet Antah could rely on Tuanku Jaafar in getting more quarries, pig farming lands, housing states, plantations, factories and other such gifts from the Negeri Sembilan government, which was the mainstay of their business. A few trophy businesses such as the 7-11 convenience stores and part-ownership of the carbonated drinks manufacturer, Permanis Sdn Bhd, were shown off as the successes of Antah. In reality, post-1997, the well dried up and even these were up for sale. Antah shares in Permanis were first hawked to the Yeo Hiap Seng group of Singapore but later sold to someone else. And the 7-11 chain has been going through the doors of several banks in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, looking for a new home.

The extravagant lifestyle of the Negeri Sembilan royals is explainable because they understand that their tenure of the state is limited. The children and grandchildren of Tuanku Jaafar are fully aware that the head of their family is not the rightful ruler of Negeri Sembilan.

The system there is unique. The Yang Dipertuan Besar is elected by four Undangs, commoners with almost equal status to the ruler himself. The Negeri Sembilan ruler, unlike for example the Sultans of Selangor, do not really own the state but share it with the Undangs.

Tuanku Jaafar realised early on that the Undangs must be manipulated. His first tactic was to replace dead Undangs with uneducated, pliant yes-men. He continually bribed them with datukship quotas which could then be sold off to others. He encouraged them to get into debt often with his own business associates) and then pretended to save them by paying off these obligations. In the beginning of his reign, he had as Undang a lawyer and several ex-civil servants. Through manipulating the system, Tuanku Jaafar now has as his Undangs, a petai-seller, an ex-TNB meter reader, and a former bank teller, amongst others. Tuanku Jaafar had succeeded the throne in 1967 due to the interference of former Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, a close friend of Tuanku Jaafar since their student days in England.

The story is interesting: Tunku Abdul Rahman was a failure at university and had to repeat his legal studies many times over the course of 20 years. He started in England with Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the father of Tuanku Jaafar, but graduated with Tuanku Jaafar himself. While in England, he became bosom buddies with Tuanku Jaafar. In 1960, Tuanku Abdul Rahman died while serving as the first Agong. His eldest and royal son duly succeeded him. However, Tuanku Munawir was already a sick man, riddled by diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Four decades of overeating caused him to go blind almost immediately upon succession. By 1967, at the age 45, Tuanku Munawir was bedridden, completely immobile and was directing state affairs from his bedside or from a wheelchair. He rose from his sleep at noon, but often went back to sleep by early afternoon. Affairs of the state could hardly work during such incapacity.

Tunku Abdul Rahman watched the event with great interest. He knew that Tuanku Munawir had a son and heir who was in fact the Tunku Besar (a title that in Negeri Sembilan is the equivalent of Crown Prince). But as the son was still quite young, upon his father's death in 1967, Tunku Abdul Rahman staged a bloodless coup.

The Negeri Sembilan throne is not hereditary but elective in a limited sense of the word. Four Undangs were given nominal authority to select any prince as the ruler. However, such a prince must come from a list of which the Tunku Besar should be the first considered. In 1967, Tuanku Munawir having died, while the coffin lay in state at the Istana in Seri Menanti, Tunku Abdul Rahman sent his political secretary, Datuk Nik Hassan, to meet up with the Undangs. An offer was made to the Undang of Sg Ujong, Datuk Mohamad Kassim, and the Undang of Jelebu, Datuk Abu Bakar, for them to consider instead the election of Tuanku Jaafar as the new ruler, then number four in line to the throne and Malaysia's ambassador-designate to Japan.

Tunku Abdul Rahman instructed his secretary for the payment of RM100,000 to be made to each of the Undang's account with the promise of another RM100,000 each upon the installation of Tuanku Jaafar. His interest in this was quite simple. Tuanku Jaafar was a loyal UMNO supporter at a time when PAS was making inroads in Negeri Sembilan. His full brother, Tunku Charlie, was an UMNO MP for Rawang. Both could be expected to manipulate the system and ensure that Negeri Sembilan was free of opposition influence. The money duly appeared in the Undang's bank accounts, paid for by a Chinese businessman who is currently a Tan Sri and a long time friend of the Tunku.

Tunku was right. Only two years after this happened, PAS and DAP made inroads and even succeeded in toppling several UMNO stalwarts including Dato Samad (father of Tan Sri Isa Samad).

Swaying the Undangs was too easy. As the Tunku Besar, Tuanku Munawir's son and heir, mounted the dais to instruct the preparations for the funeral of his late father, the Undang of Jelebu stepped forward to announce to everyone's shock that the Tunku Besar would not succeed to the throne but that the next Yang Dipertuan Besar would instead be Tuanku Jaafar.

Negeri Malays were shocked and Tuanku Jaafar's background was the main reason for this. The election was controversial to some also because Tuanku Jaafar's mother was a divorced Portuguese-Indian who had reconverted to Christianity after separation from Tuanku Jaafar's father.

But this did not matter to Tunku Abdul Rahman who wanted to ensure that the rulers were strong UMNO supporters at a time when his leadership was increasingly being questioned.

It was to be a costly mistake for Negeri Sembilan. Tuanku Jaafar realised that, as an usurper, he had limited time to enjoy his tenure in office. Soon Menteri Besar Tan Sri Mohamad Said began to receive massive requests for land from the Istana. Several huge pieces were alienated without land premium in the Paroi region of Seremban as well as in Senawang. Several thousand acres of residential development land, golf courses, commercial sites and industrial parks which could have been sold at higher prices to genuine businessmen were alienated to Tuanku Jaafar and his children at cheap prices. Much were later sold off to Chinese businessmen who bought them from the Istana and received datukships as grateful presents.

As the Tuanku's children grew, their incessant demands for more money multiplied. Menteris Besar Datuk Mansor Othman and Datuk Rais Yatim both had to deal with more requests for land, in particular limestone and rock quarries. They found almost weekly that their meetings with the ruler were often accompanied by subtle requests for land on Antah and Melewar letterheads. Leaders who were known to be reluctant to give away such gifts to Tuanku Jaafar's children found themselves sidelined politically.

When Isa Samad became Menteri Besar, the Tuanku was one of the first Malay rulers to discover a new source of income. Isa, not being a very pliant Menteri Besar, had said to the Tuanku that he could not object if the Tuanku would sell off state titles. Accordingly, the Darjah Paduka Tuanku Jaafar (DPTJ) was created to fill the Tuanku's coffers. Malay and Chinese businessmen, some with criminal records and impending bankruptcy petitions, made appointments with the Tuanku's personal secretary to pay their homage at Seri Menanti. Brown paper packets containing up to RM300,000 in cash were exchanged for nomination forms for datukships. By 2004, the Tuanku's datukship list had swelled to over 40 awards per year.

Some of the Tuanku's datuks were in their twenties. In the last few years, businessmen lining up for the datukships would find that upon receipt of the cash, the Tuanku would put the envelopes under the carpet of the audience room of Seri Menanti to be discreetly collected by the Tunku Ampuan later.

Only last week a 34-year old businessmen (the son of a former UMNO minister) was casually informed by Tuanku Jaafar that this may be the last year he receives payments for datukships as the public furor was getting louder. Come 19th July, it would not be a shock to find that again the Tuanku had sold off several datukships to 30-somethings who had done nothing worthy except pay the requisite fee.

The blatant sale of public titles has been further augmented by the Tuanku giving away datukship entitlements to several of his children. Tunku Naquiyuddin, Tunku Imran and their brother-in-law, Tunku Muzaffar, are amongst the most well-known brokers of Negeri datukships. Charlie, otherwise known as Tunku Abdullah, is also another seller of titles. He needs this to cover the extravagant wedding expenses and alimony for his seven wives. It has become so embarrassing that genuine recipients of DPTJ have rejected the title and requested the higher title of DSNS for fear of being laughed at by their peers. A former officer of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi even remarked that when he went to receive his own award he did not recognise a single recipient of the DPTJ as people who have been of service to the state. They were all businessmen who bought the titles willingly and flaunted it to get even more contracts. The officer was so embarrassed that he left immediately after the investiture without joining the tea party with the Tuanku.

All of the Tuanku's actions are aimed towards one sole purpose as enriching his family in case the Undangs decide to return the throne to the rightful heir. At 83, death is on his mind. Since the last two years, Tuanku Jaafar has been so worried about the succession that he instructed Chinese datuks of Negeri Sembilan to begin making regular payments to the Undangs in order to get their support for Tunku Naquiyuddin to succeed him.

Last year, Tunku Naquiyuddin himself made payments of between RM500,000 to RM1.5 million to the four Undangs in order to get their support. The Undang of Johol (recently infamous for showing off the finger to the Menteri Besar at a public function) was grateful for the RM500,000 but requested the right to make ten Datuks every year. Tunku Naquiyuddin, being the businessman that he is, bargained it down to six. The Undang of Sg Ujong was more erudite and asked for cash of RM1.5 million. A Chinese construction company based in Kuala Pilah duly made payment on behalf of Tunku Naquiyuddin.

But Tunku Naquiyuddin's postion is not secure. The people dislike him
for his blatant abuse of rank and title. He has made his non-royal wife a full Tunku and several sisters-in-law besides. His son and daughter of university age are known for their poolside parties which are sometimes carried out at the wee hours of the morning in true Bacchanaelian
fashion with free-flowing wine, pink champagne and both male and female strippers. A commoner stepson of his brother Tunku Imran goes around by the name of Tunku and makes fun of doa readings in public functions at the Istana in Seri Menanti.

On the other hand, the Tunku Besar Mukhriz, son of the long-forgotten Tuanku Munawir, has proven to be a man more suited to the people's taste. Having married a genuine royal from Terengganu, he has produced three successful sons holding high positions in the civil service. The only fault he has is that he has been excluded from many state functions, and although the most senior prince of the blood, he has never been called upon to perform official duties. In the previous reign, whoever was Tunku Besar was made regent when the Yang Dipertuan Besar was incapacitated. Tuanku Jaafar blatantly ignores this rule and instead appoints Tunku Naquiyuddin, in spite of the higher ranking of his nephew.

In doing all this, Tuanku Jaafar has misused his position. By bribes, threats and other such means, Tuanku Jaafar ensures that the adat chiefs are put to a much lower level than is their right. For example, on the 26th of June, the installation of the Undang of Sg Ujong was fully funded by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage instead of the state government. It reduces the role of the Undangs to that of a dancer in any rumah terbuka Malaysia.

In the meantime the rot continues. In 2001, Dr Mahathir, a former business partner of Tunku Charlie (their company was known as T. Abdullah Mahathir & Co. and had ownership of hotels in Indonesia) gave his bosom friends, Tuanku Jaafar and Tunku Abdullah, the last machine to print money in the form of the Jimah IPP Project.

The project is worth RM6.1 billion. But Antah is incapable of raising the required funds to finance the project. Instead, the project is fully funded (both equity and debt) by banks. The banks had no choice. They were told in no uncertain terms to give the loans.

When Abdullah Badawi came to power, this was one of the megaprojects considered for shelving. But Abdullah Badawi was persuaded by son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin that to cancel this project would mean that he (Khairy) cannot rely on Tuanku Jaafar's support for his political future in Negeri Sembilan. The project was not cancelled although it can only make a 12% return in the most optimistic of cases (low for IPPs and definitely not enough to service the debt over the expected slowdown of the next few years). But the RM300 million debt of Antah and other obligations of the Negeri royal family must somehow be paid. One can scarcely expect the Negeri family to work it off themselves. TNB is now forced to pay for expensive electricity in a glut market. But that is not a problem for TNB. They can always pass the cost onto consumers like you and me. And Datuk Che Khalib, perhaps the most corrupt of the Young Turks put by Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yackop in charge of the GLCs, has already got a Negeri datukship in his pocket and he is under strict orders from his real boss, Khairy Jamaluddin, not to irk Tuanku Jaafar and his sons.

Meanwhile, the state of Negeri Sembilan is so poor it cannot pay its obligations to Felda settlers except by the grace and favour of EPF. While the running down of the state is due to the inept leadership of longtime Menteri Besar Tan Sri Isa Samad, the apacious and greedy nature of Tuanku Jaafar and his children is also largely to blame. Tuanku Jaafar's legacy in his nearly four decades as ruler is that he is perhaps the richest of all the Malay rulers and his family is by far the wealthiest of all the Malay royal families.

It is no surprise that the Negeri royal family was one of only two Asian royal families (the other being Brunei) to be featured in Hollywood's Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. As long as the unholy alliance between Tuanku Jaafar and the UMNO politicians continue, the milking of Negeri Sembilan to a dry pit will also continue.

Please note there are illogical part of the story and it is spinned in a manner to merely to discredit UMNO. Whatever the fact to the story, pi mai pimai tang tu ... salah akan dibelok ke UMNO. There is a credibility issue.

As blogger Nobisha very point out this, universal labelling is a tasteless and cheap propaganda. Just like it is unfair brush all 3.5 million claimed UMNO members to be the same as the few bad apples amng them, it equally unfair to do so for all of PKR, PAS and DAP members for the fault of its own few bad apples. Agree to disagree in the proper fashion.

It doesn't make sense that Tunku Abd Rahman would use the federal government coffer to bribe RM400,000 to the four undang. Mind you, RM8,000 can get one a Mercedes in 1967. That kind of bribe is overly exergerated.

Another version to the MT's story will be done in due time........