Will the 35-year-old Puspahanas project ever be implemented?

DAP National Deputy Chairman and MP for Kepong Dr Tan Seng Giaw urges the Government to implement the National Defence Education Centre (Puspahanas) project that is estimated to cost nearly Rm100 million.

Let us not simply relocate the project from near the Templer Park, Rawang, to Putrajaya. Doing so will mean cancelling the agreement and terrible implications.

Recently, Dr Tan receives public complaint that the Defence Ministry has put up signboards on the Puspahanas project adjacent to the Templer Park with hardly any work done in over a year. The project consists of two military colleges.

On 20 July, 2006, the Secretary-General of the Defence Ministry Datuk Ahmad Latiff Hashim led his senior officers to explain to the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament about the Puspahanas project. This centre is for two military colleges, namely, the National Defence College (MPN) and the Armed Forces Administration and Senior Officers' College (MPTAT). The former is for officers above Colonel and Brigadier General on the grand military and the latter is to train majors and leftenant Colonels on military strategy and operation. The students include foreign military officers and senior civil servants. The two colleges are in the old buildings of Mindef in Kuala Lumpur.

The concept of new Puspahanas buildings was conceived in 1971. The following year, the Armed Forces Council passed the resolution to site these buildings in an area of 221.365 acres, near the Templer Park. Basically, several private individuals owned the land which is not a forest reserve. It is in natural surroundings with captivating views. From 1972 to 1985, the Government proceeded with the land acquisitions. In 1980, the Armed Forces Conference approved the project. In 1993, the Armed Forces Defence College Board decided to privatize it. In 1996, the Defence Ministry applied to the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister's Department for the privatization.

In 1997, the Cabinet approved on principle the privatization of the Puspahanas project by Syarikat Awan Megah Sdn Bhd and, in return, 223 acres of government land in Bukit Raja, Klang, was transferred to the company for commercial development. In the same year, regional economic crisis affected the company which faced problems such as in drawing up the project plan and the Kuala Lumpur-Rawang highway was meant to go through the same land. By 2002, these problems were overcome. Then, the Defence Ministry estimated the cost of the project as RM85,946,850.96, whereas the contractor calculated as RM117,578,761.81. After several dicussions and counter proposals, the Government signed agreement on the project with the contractor on 14 march, 2005, at RM99,366,280, to be completed in 36 months.

Meanwhile, the company faces obstacles such as the Environment Department imposing mitigating conditions on the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report as the project is on category 3 & 4 slope. The Selayang Municipality has yet to issue the Development Order (D.O.).

As the contractor is waiting for the D.O., the Defence Ministry has a new proposal to transfer the project from the present site to Putrajaya where it has a 40-acre land. After 35 years, the propject is on the verge of being implemented, the relocation will have serious implications including compensation for the contractor and further delay.