Coffer dam for the coffer

Global Uphill Sdn. Bhd.

Global Uphill is the private company of Tan Sri Ting Pek King, the Sarawakian tycoon who controls Ekran Berhad, the corn p any that received the turnkey contract to the build the dam in 1994 in a condition of total opaqueness. Today Global is believed to have beaten three other short-listed candidates to build the RM80 million-coffer dam, the structure that will create a dry area at the project site so that the main dam can be built.

If you refresh your memory, you will remember that:

· In 1994, Ekran commenced their 'preparatory works" at the dam site without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval amid heavy criticism and this action was defended by the Science, Technology and Environment Minister of that time, of all people. Tan Sri Ting claimed that completion of preliminary works would help save much time and facilitate construction.

· In March 1995, at the Headquarters of the Department of Environment (DOE) in Kuala Lumpur, Tan Sri Ting announced that Part 1 of the EIA on the construction of the reservoir had been approved, in a manner that implied as if the approval was obtained from the DOE. Without public input or feedback, concerned groups maintained that the approval process had contravened the legal requirement for an EIA.

The DOE Director General then had to come out and deny that the department had approved the EIA. It turned out that the Federal EIA Guidelines were amended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Environment Datuk Law Hieng Ding earlier in the same month, to transfer the authority for EIA approval for development projects in Sarawak which pertain to land, water, forestry, agriculture and other living and non-living resources from the DOE (at the federal level) to Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment Board (SNREB) at the state level. This amendment was to be backdated to Sept 1, 1994.

Back in September 1994, Sarawak also enforced its own environmental law, namely the Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment (Prescribed Activities) Order 1994.

According to the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and regulations made under it, the construction of hydroelectric dams is an activity that requires an EIA. The Federal EIA Guidelines in turn stipulate that the EIA process must receive public inputs. However unlike the Federal EIA Guidelines, the Sarawak EIA Guidelines enforced in September 1994 do not allow public participation in the EIA process unless the project proponent so desires.

Ekran obviously did not desire for the Bakun EIA to incorporate public feedback and Part 1 of the EIA was not made public until four months after its approval. Even then the complete copies could only be found in Belaga, Kapit and Kuching and concerned groups would have to wait for a long time before copies of their orders arrived. Part 2 also relatively received the same fate and Part 3 cost RM150 a copy.

· Ekran also asked a management fee of a RM1 billion for Bakun and even the Prime Minister then was not happy with the requested amount.

· Four of Tan Sri Ting's listed firms - Wembley Industries Holdings, PWE Industries, Pacific Chemicals and Granite Industries, were appointed lead subcontractors for the project, securing contracts valued at RM4.5 billion, representing 40 percent of the engineering, procurement and construction works. Tan Sri Ting explained this was necessary to avoid Asea Brown Boveri (part of the company that formed the soon-to-be contracted developer consortium) having all "sorts of reasons not to give contracts to local companies".

· Just before the stock market plunged in 1997, Ekran was troubled by a hugely undersubscribed rights issue. The proceeds of the rights issue were to be used for its subscription of a rights issue in associate company Wembley Industries, for investment in Bakun Hydroelectric Corporation Berhad and as working capital.

The rights issue was undersubscribed by 66.77 times, leaving Ting and his wife to mop up about 150 million shares that were not taken up with Ting having to fork out RM860 million from his personal coffers.

Back then when a question was posed as to how he raised the money, Ting's reply was, "it is a personal matter. The important thing is that the money is in Ekran." But as it turned out later, external auditors Arthur Anderson qualified the company's accounts and raised concerns that the proceeds from the rights issue had been used without the Security Commission's approval.

According to its 1998 annual report, the management of Ekran used the proceeds to repay loans, repurchase bonds, as working capital and make part payment to a director in relation to the proposed subscription of assets in two companies. The part payment to the director was a massive RM712.9 million. Back then many have already guessed that the director in question was Tan Sri Ting as the two companies that Ekran proposed to acquire were PWE and Granite.

Ekran had in July 1997, among others, proposed to Acquire Appleleaf Investments Ltd and Classic Gold Assets Ltd for a total of RM924.45 million. Appleleaf and Classic Gold had earlier entered into an agreement with Tan Sri Ting to acquire his 9 percent stake in PWE and 32 percent interest in Granite.

In August 1999, Ekran was reprimanded and fined RM173,000 by the KLSE for failing to announce certain agreements and acquisitions which involved Appleleaf, Classic Gold and Tan Sri Ting; and its 60 per cent acquisition in Langkasuka Marine Development for RM300 million cash and a 100 per cent stake in, Skylark Jaya for RM135 million.