By FMT StaffKUALA LUMPUR: The man instrumental for putting Malaysia on cloud nine, quite literally by constructing one of the world's tallest buildings, is unconvinced about a project aimed at topping his feat.
Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose 22-year tenure was littered with the biggest, tallest and longest achievements, had put current premier Najib Tun Razak's 100-storey Warisan Merdeka project on shaky foundation.
According to the real architect behind the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers, Najib's brainchild was simply “not needed”.
Speaking at the “Revisiting Vision 2020” conference here, Mahathir warned that the upcoming skyscraper would be a bane for real estate in the Klang Valley.
“If you ask me, we don't need a 100-storey tower,” he said, responding to a query from the floor.
Mahathir added that when he went around the city, he often came across buildings with “for sale” and “for rent” signboards.
“This means we already have a lot of buildings," he said, drawing a resounding applause.
Encouraged by the favourable response to his remarks, Mahathir quipped: "Does that mean you agree with me and are against the government?"
Although a medical doctor by training, Mahathir, who is known for his acute economic skills leading to the coining of the term “Mahathirnomics”, went on to paint a bleak picture.
He warned that Malaysia, with its already ailing real estate sector, could witness the property bubble bursting, just like in Dubai and Japan.
"We may not be building like crazy but we are crazy building. There is no one to stay in these buildings. Those who buy, buy it to speculate and sell at a higher price.
"There will come a time when you cannot sell at a higher price and there is no one to buy (the buildings)," he added.
During his term in office, Mahathir had constantly come under fire from the opposition and other quarters for wasting taxpayers' money on mega-projects.
Meanwhile, the 84-year-old statesman also jested that he had a personal motive for shooting down the Warisan Merdeka tower.
Mahathir said that since he had been credited for the Petronas twin towers, he did not want to see Najib's brainchild outgrowing his, at least while he was still breathing.
"They can build it, maybe not now but later... when I am no longer around," he added.
The Warisan Merdeka tower, unveiled during the tabling of the Budget 2011 last month, was also met with stiff resistance from the opposition.
Apart from this, a Facebook page against the tower had more than 250,000 Malaysians registering their protest.
11 comments:
As usual, Mahathir only concern about it because he does not want Najib's tower to be taller than his.
we have twin tower, that enough.
Buat apa mahu bagunan tinggi lagi? Bazirkan duit rakyat sahaja.
views of each party should be considered before making the tower project.
Agree with you there Shawn. Mahathir is only concern that Najib might beat his achievement. His achievement is measured based on the height of his tower. tsk tsk.
Better to use the money for rakyat's benefit than to be build another tower. The tower can wait.
the Asian is fond of sky scrapper building..please watch documentary on competition of building sky crappers tower among Asian countries...... but donno if it is available for Malaysian to watch....
Petronas twin tower is symbolic to Tun Mahathir's image and future 100 storey super duper mega tower will reflect Malaysia's @ Najib's image as ..it can represent another prestigious sky crapper will be built up...i think someone may be jealous of u....PM
the time will come when Malaysia have no choice and really need such skyscrapers to meet the development needs due to shortage of land.
Dr M has a very right to say those words but Najib also has a right to make sure he reach the goal.
Apa guna bagunan gergasi ini? Tak perlulah buat macam-macam projek seperti ini. Buang masa, buang duit.
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