Full support needed on 23th June 2013 to STOP Megat and his 10 cahoots

KGNS members up in arms over club acquisition

Published: Fri, 18 Nov 2011

SHAH ALAM: Putrajaya’s move to acquire the iconic Kelab Golf Negara Subang (KGNS), which was mooted and built during former Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman’s tenure, is raising more than a few eyebrows.
Faced with an uncertain future, members are indignant over the move.
“The club has been very well run. There have been no issues. All the activities here are healthy. My son and daughter are also members,” said Kevin Sugumaran.
The 59-year-old publisher, who has been a member since 1984, described KGNS as a family club as it appeals to both golfers and non-golfers.
Recreational facilities, which include a gym, swimming pool and badminton, tennis and squash courts, have been well maintained since the club’s opening in September 1968.
If acquired, KGNS stands to lose 133.5 hectares of prime land worth an estimated RM5 billion that is currently leased from the Federal Land Commission.
A task force comprising club members reportedly allowed a caveat to protect the club’s interest in the land to lapse in June.
An extraordinary general meeting will be held on Sunday to resolve the issue.
“The members want to review the task force and tell the government that this (gaining control of KGNS land) is not a good move,” said P Krishnasamy.
The 60-year-old, who works in construction, said the club is a reflection of its multiracial surroundings, hosting various events like Indian, Chinese and Malay weddings.
Having been a member since 1978, he underscored the importance of the club and its facilities to members.
“The golf club is not just for a privileged few. The other sports facilities get the whole community involved,” he said.
Krishnasamy said the club has been part of the lives of members since its founding by the country’s first prime minister.
He added that the club should not be taken away from the community it has served for over four decades.
Businessperson Pattis Naidu, who has been a member since 1986, said members enjoy close comradeship with one another.
The 61-year-old said the club is a good meeting point and possesses a good mix of members.
“If you want to see the spirit of 1Malaysia, it is here in Subang,” he said.

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A controversial move by Kelab Golf Negara Subang (KGNS) to lease and relocate its gaming machines outside the clubhouse has offered a peek into the billion-ringgit slot machine industry controlled by a clutch of businessmen closely connected to Barisan Nasional (BN).

Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Khas and other members of the management committee of the club for the year 2011-2012 were recently censured by club members for negligent and incompetent conduct and a breach of duty, according to documents sighted by The Malaysian Insider.

The Club Captain during that period was Dr Ronnie Yeo. He received a stronger rebuke for being a party to discussions on the relocation deal when he was employed by Waz Lian Recreation Sdn Bhd, the company owned by a tycoon who organised the massive show of support in Port Klang for Datuk Seri Najib Razak with 60,000 people turning up for the dinner.

The real story: the Finance Minister who first gave out these licences - Dr M or Pak Lah

A handful of Chinese tycoons own hundreds of licences issued by the Ministry of Finance to operate gaming machines. These machines are placed in private clubs around the city but are open to anyone who wants to try their luck. The tycoons with more licences are able to earn a profit of several million ringgit a month, some going as high as RM20 million a month, even after paying taxes to the government.

Because of the Finance Ministry’s tight control of licences under the Lottery Act, some of the tycoons have been turning their attention to gaming machines operated by golf clubs and sports clubs around the country, offering the clubs a contract to lease and relocate the machines outside the clubs.

In return, these gaming operators are prepared to pay the clubs a guaranteed amount monthly. And most of the time the guaranteed monthly compensation is more than what the club would have earned had the slot machines remained in its premises and been played only by club members.

But the problem with such sweet deals is that they appear to breach the conditions of the gaming licence set by the Finance Ministry. These include the need to place the slot machines on club premises and make sure that only club members can play.

'Annex club'

In this case, KGNS agreed to transfer the operation of its 10 gaming machines to Waz Lian in May 2012, more than a year after talks began between the management committee and the operator.

The gaming machines were moved to the Galaxy Club in Kota Damansara and it was agreed that Waz Lian would run the slot machine business for five years. For the first six months, KGNS would receive RM126,000. After that, the club was to be paid RM150,000 per month.

Waz Lian also agreed that in the event of the gaming licence was revoked, it would compensate KGNS RM10 million. The management committee also agreed with a suggestion by Waz Lian to call the gaming room in Kota Damansara “an annex club’’, a move which would ensure that it would technically meet the Finance Ministry’s demand that the machines must be on club premises.

But the agreement did not go down well with club members and at the KGNS AGM in June last year, it was decided that a special investigation committee investigate “the causes and reasons” for the club entering into an agreement to operate its slot machines and remove them from the club.

Breaches: What should current Finance Minister Najib Razak do - confiscate the machines/licences?

After exhaustive enquiries, the special investigation committee concluded that many breaches had taken place.

For example, the agreement with Waz Lian states that members of the public will be allowed to use the gaming machines at Galaxy club, contravening the ministry’s rules that only club members may use the slot machines.

Also, the Galaxy club was described as an annex of KGNS though the golf club did not have exclusive possession of the premises where the machines were moved to.

The investigation committee also noted that though the operator pledged to make a payment of RM10 million should the gaming licence be revoked, Waz Lian did not have a good balance sheet and had a net liability position of RM446,872.

There was also disappointment among club members because the club’s solicitors had in December 2011 raised the red flag on whether Malaysian law allows the machines to be used by non-members.

It remains unclear if the Finance Ministry is going to act against KGNS or other clubs which have entered into agreements with the well-connected businessmen who dominate the slot machine business in Malaysia.

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When politicians and crooks get involve in recreation and sports the Rakyat stand to lose.  Today KGNS is fighting to keep its club due to the greed of Megat and his friends.
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON a family of crooks and murderers.