Unexpected stamp of recognition

Andrew Beh Teng Chye, Malay Mail Online

When 70 acres of prime real estate in Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), formerly known as Kuala Lumpur International Financial District (KLIFD) went on the market, many naysayers went to town dismissing the project as to date, nothing much has happened there.

Few chose to give credit to our PM who had then assembled a special task force led by Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to facilitate investments and business operations. Despite a flurry of unending brickbats hurled at him, Najib has held on to drive his economic transformation agenda.

Today, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) announced it has sold land for RM665 million to Indonesia’s Mulia Group to build its Signature Tower in the Tun Razak Exchange.

Such a positive development augurs well for the prestige of the nation. At a time when citizens have little confidence in 1MDB, renowned Mulia Group president director and owner Eka Tjandranegara bought the land to develop the Signature Tower as the new landmark of Kuala Lumpur city.

Expressing how Mulia Group wishes to be an integral part of this iconic state-of-the-art development not only for Malaysia but for the region and beyond, Eka Tjandranegara has given TRX the best international seal of approval for this up and coming financial district.

TRX will make waves as a futuristic hub with district-wide digital connectivity, enhanced energy, water and waste management systems, and e-services in residential and commercial properties.

Upon its completion, the district is expected to contribute towards job creation, attracting knowledge-based talent, increasing the number of world leading companies to the city, and drive greater economic growth for the country.

This national project will vastly support ETP’s goal to raise Malaysia’s Gross National Income per capita to US$15,000 (RM54,082), create 3.3 million jobs and secure US$444 billion in investments by 2020. The signature tower, which will be the landmark of the TRX, will have a height of 380m. (Source: Wikipedia)

Despite the limelight on alleged bailouts, a wise real estate magnate, Eka Tjandranegara (net worth US$1.7 billion) saw that pot of gold in TRX.

Can you imagine what might have happened had Malaysians refrained from running down 1MDB?

Let us hope that from henceforth, more will be in the queue to invest in TRX and even more will refocus their effort to build our nation into truly a first class nation.