Citizen Nades - Take a corrupt tour?

IT WAS just not only the article which made compelling reading but also the accompanying note from trainer-audit officer Gursharan Singh: "Can we have a similar tour as I think Malaysia may have sufficient number of such sites to create a new industry?"
The article which appeared in the New York Times two years ago (but still relevant) was headlined: On the Crony Safari, a Tour of a City's Corruption.
To those who have visited Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, the buildings, medieval buildings and landmarks are works of fine architecture and art.
But there's a seedier side to the city where many of the buildings have become monuments to corruption and cronyism. The republic is ranked 53rd by Transparency International in the Corruption Perception Index – three notches below Malaysia.
An enterprising businessman has started what is the world's first ever "Corrupt Tour" which gives visitors the darker side of the city – the culture of lawlessness and corruption.
NYT's Dan Bilefsky wrote: "These days, there is more than enough nefarious activity afoot in the Czech capital to fill a three-hour excursion. The first stop on the tour was a run-down apartment building in a working-class neighborhood. The guide said Ivo Rittig, a wealthy lobbyist with a private jet and a home in Monaco, had once registered the apartment as his main residence."
The tour makes past several other buildings housing the corrupt, the cronies, the lobbyists and even murders. It ends at the city's outskirts at the large mausoleum for the family of Martin Roman, the former chief executive of the energy giant CEZ, who officials say is suspected of offering lucrative contracts to cronies, an accusation he has vehemently denied.
So, if we have such a tour in the Klang Valley, where should we start? The Kuala Lumpur International Airport should be the starting point.
From there, we can make a detour off the highway to the Paya Indah Wetlands where visitors can get a glimpse of what remains of RM65 million which was spent on what was then termed as "the largest wetlands in this part of the world."
Then we make a diversion and head on the highway to Pulau Indah where the remnants of the replica of the world-famous Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai.
With billions already paid up and payments continuing to be made to bond holders, the total sum will be in the region of RM12 billion, with little to show. The unoccupied hotel, the sparsely-used convention centre and the pockets of factories and warehouses will certainly delight the visitors.
From there, we head to the Port Klang Authority headquarters where the decisions to borrow and spend that humongous amount of money can be seen. Unfortunately, the board room where the directors sat in silence as the plunder continued will certainly be out of bounds to visitors.
From there, they must visit the famous Zakaria's Palace – a mansion with 16 rooms and 21 bathrooms owned by a former railway gatekeeper-turned lawmaker. The massive structure was built without planning permission on land meant for low-cost houses.
Refreshments and satay would have been the ideal stop along the route, but the shop owned by Zakaria's son was demolished after the council discovered the structure was illegal and he had been operating without a licence. Remnants of the boat-like structure have disappeared – used as firewood by the poor living nearby.
From there, we can take the North Klang Valley Expressway and divert into Shah Alam to view the infamous Exco Village which has remained unoccupied for the past seven years. Built with a king's ransom, it was supposed to house lawmakers, but today it stands as testament to the extravagance and excessiveness that existed in the heydays of the state government.
A visit to the State Secretariat is a must. This was the place where the wives of VIPs sat and planned their visit to Cambodia to "see how the poor lived". This mission was accomplished with donations from the state and public funds.
After a 20-minute drive, we can re-route to Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya where there are seven "landmarks". Each of them sits on land meant for public amenities.
Land handed to the government for a post office, a fire station and a surau ended up in private hands and political parties. Nearby is a 20ha building site, initially meant to be used as a cemetery, but is now used for high-end houses and condominiums.
Nearby, there are also several pieces of land alienated to friends and cronies (at below market prices) in the name of development but had been re-sold many times the price for quick profits.
Along the route, visitors can see huge billboards and posters along the highway and roads which were put up after making a "donation" to the local authority's sports club.
That will be enough to fill three hours but this is only an abridged version of the Corrupt Tour. A complete tour of other sites may take a week or even more.

R. Nadeswaran in the course of his work has undertaken several visits to many such landmarks and is willing to be a tour guide (on a gratis basis) to any businessman who sees it as a viable venture. Comments: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com