Change In Profile But Not Values

Lee Yoke Har's resemblance to older brother Datuk Lee Yeow Chor is uncanny. Soft-spoken and affable, her quiet strength and firmness are very similar to her sibling's when it comes to dealing with the issues of the day.

The children of IOI Corp Bhd's executive chairman and CEO Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, Yeow Chor is group executive director of the IOI group of companies and executive director of IOI Properties Bhd, while Yoke Har is the general manager of its legal and general operations department — a position that has enabled her to stay out of the public eye.

Two months ago, however, Yoke Har, who has been with the group for 13 years, donned another hat. She took over the marketing operations of the group's property division, which is a hot seat indeed, given the current tough property market conditions.

"I am not a corporate person," Yoke Har stresses to City & Country in what is her maiden media interview. "Please focus on the exciting projects and plans we have to share with you…

" She reports to IOI Properties' executive director Datuk David Tan, a trusted chieftain of the Lees and who has been with the group for ages. Then there are her brother and father.

With Yoke Har spearheading the marketing portfolio for the property division, Tan is free to focus on other equally demanding chores, with project management being a priority.

"He has a lot on his plate and he needs to juggle his time a lot," explains Yoke Har, whose newly put-together team oversees the marketing of key Klang Valley developments, comprising those in Puchong and Klang and IOI Resort in Putrajaya.

The changes being effected are aimed at coordinating and expediting decisions so that the developer can move at a fast clip. Raising the profile of IOI Properties — a brand that is synonymous with dependability and being conservative and low profile — is also in the works.

Says Yoke Har: "We want people to know us... It is high time there was coordinated effort to do this. Our style has always been to do things quietly; do it well and people will know. (But it has been) too quiet. This has been going on for years. But our values have not changed…"

For IOI Properties, indisputably a top Malaysian property developer that has been active since 1982, the changes are perhaps overdue, seeing how the demands of property investors have surged in recent times.

No, the changes are not a knee-jerk response to the troubles ailing even the most established players across the globe, says Yoke Har. In fact, she sees the property market bottoming out in nine months. "There is liquidity; people are holding back for fire sales but this has not happened." With the property market getting more crowded and the investment climate more jittery, even the unobtrusive IOI Properties is reviewing its strategies, going forward. This is necessary because the developer plans to launch some RM500 million worth of properties in the Klang Valley this year. The offerings will come from Bandar Puchong Jaya, the newer Bandar Puteri Puchong and Bandar Puteri Klang. In Bandar Puchong Jaya, which sprawls over 1,000 acres, more upmarket homes, like the 2½-storey superlink Vistaria Residences, have emerged in the residential component. The next six months will see the launch of sixty 2½-storey semi-detached homes and light industrial units here. Meanwhile, almost 80% of the 930-acre Bandar Puteri Puchong has been developed. It will unveil thirty-six 2 and 2½-storey bungalows and seventy-eight 3 and 4-storey shopoffices over the next half year. Over in Bandar Puteri Klang, new homes and shopoffices will be rolled out from end-February. In short, IOI Properties is not about to put a stop to new launches.

PUCHONG FINANCIAL COMMERCIAL CENTRE

So, exactly what is going to be different about the developer? For starters, it will embrace fresh and compelling development concepts and designs. Add to the concoction a loyalty programme designed to reach out to and please both buyers and occupants to secure repeat buying.

The new and bolder designs are evident in the upcoming Puchong Financial Commercial Centre (PFCC) taking shape diagonally across the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP) from the IOI Mall. Work on two of the five PFCC towers on an eight-acre freehold tract is slated to be completed this April. "These are not very high — 11 and 20 storeys. But you will not miss them as you drive along the LDP," says Mohd Ezuddin Sami'an, IOI Properties' marketing manager.

"They are iconic… they stand out from the other buildings in Puchong.

" Puchong has too many traditional shophouses and offices, says Yoke Har. She is confident a "happening" PFCC, with its contemporary design incorporating environmentally friendly features, will lift Puchong's image to even that of Bangsar.

Looks and design aside, the developer is counting on the proximity of Cyberjaya as drawing point. However, a building can only be audited as a Cyberjaya Centre upon its completion. "We are confident of getting the status," says Yoke Har, adding that the building designs have incorporated the necessary criteria.

While the original plan was to build all the five towers in four to five years, the timeline had to been tweaked to seven to eight years in the light of the current global credit turmoil. So, the developer is improving the designs of Towers 3, 4 and 5, based on the experience and feedback from the nearing completion of Towers 1 and 2.

Combined, the five towers will offer a net lettable area of 1.15 million sq ft. The 12-storey Tower 1 (built at RM35 million) will have 125,000 sq ft, and the 20-storey Tower 2 (built at RM70 million) 253,000 sq ft. In all, there will be 1,920 parking bays in the basement, all of them interlinked.

The developer has tagged an average RM600 psf for Tower 1, while it intends to keep the LDP-fronting Tower 2 for investment. Office space in Tower 2 is being leased out at an average of RM4 psf, while the retail space is going for RM6.50 psf or so.

It is worth noting that weak market sentiment notwithstanding, two local parties have shown interest in the buildings, with talks already in the second stage. One party is looking at leasing Tower 1 en bloc while the other is exploring a buy-and-lease-back option for Tower 2.

"We are flexible; we cannot be leaving the buildings empty for six to nine months, so if the price is good, we don't mind selling..." says Yoke Har, without disclosing the numbers now on the table. One of the parties is looking at relocating its operations, while the other is expanding and relocating its business.

IOI BOULEVARD

About a kilometre down the thoroughfare from PFCC, workers are putting the finishing touches to IOI Boulevard, a hybrid office-retail/lifestyle development modelled after London's Covent Garden. "Business sophistication" and "stylish entertainment" are some of the developer's taglines for this development that comprises six blocks of office-cum-retail space. Enclosed within is the Palette, which comprises thirty-six 2-storey retail outlets that look into a 108ft by 240ft courtyard. "This will be a platform to promote arts. Budding artists, musicians and photographers, for example, can showcase their work here free of charge. We will also build a stage in the courtyard, which will be shielded by a tinted, high glass ceiling," says Yoke Har, adding that they have factored into the design the need for air to circulate.

The developer has tied up with LimKokWing University, whose students will paint two murals in the Palette. IOI Properties is also working with the Puchong Orchestra to explore ways to promote the latter.

Of the six office-retail blocks, all equipped with individual lifts, the developer plans to keep two, both fronting the LDP for recurrent income. Since its launch last June, 60% or 262,000 sq ft of the total saleable area of just under 446,000 sq ft have been sold at an average of RM450 psf, with the ground floor retail space going for RM980 psf. Space at the Palette is leased at an average of RM6 psf. In all, IOI Boulevard offers a total net lettable area of about 730,000 sq ft, with another 133,000 sq ft in retail space at the Palette.

IOI Boulevard is targeted for completion in April and is likely to be opened in May. It will be interesting to see how much IOI Properties can do to bring arts to live in Puchong.

SIERRA PUTERI

Outside the Puchong boundary closer to Sepang, earthworks for a 485-acre mixed development township with a gross development value of RM1.6 billion called Sierra Puteri, have been completed. Construction will start as soon as the authorities approve the building plans. The gated development on undulating grounds will boast designs in departure from IOI Properties' norm. However, the layout will still be functional, says Yoke Har.

The lower-density units will be designed after precincts, each of which with its own park. There will be lots of buffer parks, she continues. The maiden launch, featuring the traditional 2-storey 2ft by 75 ft terraced homes, has been slated for the second quarter this year at a pricing she declines to reveal immediately.She would however only say that it will be priced at a premium to the conventional link homes in the close by Equine Park.

IOI Properties' move to go slightly up markat at Sierra Puteri makes sense given the abundant traditional offerings coming up in Equine Park. IOI Properties' target market: Puchong and Kajang upgraders and those staying in Serdang of course.

IOI FAMILY

Fostering loyalty in customers is an integral part of marketing and it is no different for developers. Come late March or April, IOI Properties will unveil its loyalty programme, which will see some 85,000 IOI Privilege Cards distributed, in the developer's two townships of Bandar Puchong Jaya and Bandar Puteri Puchong.

The cards will be given out free to those in the catchment area to shop, dine and enjoy other services for less in participating shops in Puchong, where the developer has built some 1,700 commercial units.

The developer will also take on the role of promoting the participating outlets, which are expected to offer 10% to 15% discounts or privileges in kind for a year. So far, 60 outlets have signed up. Potential candidates are tenants in IOI Mall — 199 in the old wing and another 100 in the new extension, which at press time was awaiting its certificate of fitness. The extension expands IOI Mall's 650,000 sq ft of net lettable space to about a million sq ft.

Yoke Har is particularly excited about the loyalty programme and it is easy to see why. A thriving township can only equal an appreciation in capital values and yields. And happy investors could potentially translate to repeat buyers. So clearly, IOI Properties is the ultimate beneficiary of the programme, if it works.

The community-based programme, Yoke Har points out, is an extension of the developer's community services which it undertakes seriously and with commitment. "We have been working a lot behind the scenes. Do you know we have someone dedicated to working with the residents' associations in Puchong? Besides our website, we also publish a bi-monthly residents' newsletter called Reach Out…"

"We want to make residents feel privileged. At the same time, we are supporting the business operators in our townships as part of our after-sales service. The programme makes sense — these are self-contained townships; everything one needs one can find there. The convenience, the variety, now the pricing with the discounts offered," she adds.

Yoke Har does not discount the possibility of the IOI Privilege Card being used by third parties, which augurs well for the participating businesses. Obviously, the plan to extend the coverage of the loyalty programme is on the cards.

IN THE PIPELINE

Traditionally a township developer, IOI Properties has withstood the test of time and thrived on the legacy of its developments. Recurrent income from property investments and property management fees now help make up the property division's 30% or so contribution to IOI Group's earnings. The ratio, Yoke Har says, is going to change with more emphasis on property, but she is unable to immediately provide the numbers.

IOI Properties is also active outside the Klang Valley, for example Singapore, although plans there have been deferred given the current downturn.

Another project to look out for is a mall planned for Putrajaya, the details of which the developer declines to divulge for now. All said, IOI Properties is geared to give competitors a run for their money.

Source: The Edge Daily

Planters urge government to help stabilise palm oil prices

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 - Malaysia's top plantation companies have suggested government incentives for industries to switch to palm bio-diesel as well as burning the oil as feedstock to generate power as part of initiatives to stabilise prices.

The proposals come in the face of excessive crude palm oil (CPO) supplies at a time of slowing demand and prices a third of their peaks.

Giving their full support for the government's initiatives to allocate RM200 million to replant 200,000 ha of ageing trees, the planters said factories and even fishermen - currently on diesel subsidies - could shift to CPO use with the right incentives.

"The more oil we can consume in the country, the greater the chances of stabilising the price of palm oil," said Kuala Lumpur Kepong chief Lee Oi Hian.

KL Kepong, along with IOI Corporation, Sime Darby, United Plantations, Felda Holdings and Boustead Holdings, produce about 60 per cent of Malaysia's total CPO.

Following a meeting of the players yesterday, the company heads told a media conference that despite the "very challenging period", they were still profitable at current CPO prices of around RM1,500 per tonne and
not in a 'distress situation'.

"We are still making profit although we may not like those profit figures," quipped Lee.

IOI executive chairman Lee Shin Cheng said he expected prices to recover and to average RM2,000 to RM2,400 next year.

Even so, with about two million tonnes of stock and prices close to breakeven point for the less productive planters, the companies with the backing of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board are looking to a RM500 million
price stabilisation fund to maintain prices.

One of the world's largest palm oil producers, Malaysia's annual output should hit an estimated 17.5 million tonnes, but global demand has shrunk in the economic downturn despite the vegetable oil's huge discount of up to US$250 per tonne to soya oil.

"The industry is asking if we can put part of the money available to support the price," Lee said of the RM300 million that remains of the fund, given that RM200 million would go towards replanting efforts.

Whether the government agrees to the suggestions, which have yet to be formally presented, remains to be seen - but national utility Tenaga Nasional has pointed out it is not feasible to use CPO as feedstock given
it would cost more than coal.

In February, the government plans to implement the use of blended bio-diesel fuel in government vehicles, and analysts estimate the production of the B5 biofuel with 5 per cent palm oil would remove 500,000 tonnes of palm oil annually when fully implemented in early 2010.

The planters who want fertiliser costs reduced by half said they would adjust costs by reducing the amount of fertiliser used. Fertiliser accounts for half the production costs but it has increased two-fold since the beginning of the year. - Business Times Singapore

Of oil palm, douches, insects and Tamil songs

YOU can always tell a planter's hands. They are big, calloused, wrinkled and very, very strong.

When I first shook hands with Datuk Leslie Davidson, a 77-year-old former planter, I was left with numb fingers before blood flowed into my right hand.

In an interview with Davidson and Mahbob Abdullah, his friend and former subordinate, both talked about their upcoming books.

Scheduled to be launched in early 2009, the books tell of their amusing and poignant experiences as planters in the tropics between the 1950s and the 1980s.

Davidson was also in Kuala Lumpur to receive the Merdeka Award from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for his outstanding contribution to Malaysian people.
The Merdeka Award, a Petronas initiative co-founded with ExxonMobil and Shell, came with a trophy, certificate and RM500,000 cash.

Davidson's contribution could be attributed to efforts 30 years ago when he initiated efforts to get weevils, insects from Cameroon, to pollinate oil palm trees in Malaysia. Since then, the oil palm trees have been merrily producing more fruit bunches, making Malaysia the world's biggest palm oil exporter.

As Davidson sat himself down beside Mahbob, he said, "the Merdeka Award is actually a team effort".

I stole a glance at Mahbob. "My boss is right. Maybe the award money should be divided among team members, too," he said, and laughed, "there were thousands of us".

In chapter 10 of Mahbob's book titled "Planters Tales" and chapter 37 of Davidson's "East of Kinabalu", they tell how oil palm companies had to spend a lot of money to hire hundreds of workers just to manually harvest pollens from male flowers of oil palm trees to pollinate female flowers.

Teams of workers patrolled the estate daily searching for male flowers to collect the pollens. This was then issued to other teams who went around pollinating every receptive female flowers with hand puffers.

"Ironically, by trial and error, we found the ideal instrument for this delicate operation to be vaginal douches," he said.

When Davidson submitted orders for vaginal douches, Unilever headquarters in London was very surprised and immediately questioned if he was carrying out birth control programmes among his estate workers.

Davidson promptly replied, "Oh, quite the contrary, we're actually trying to increase fertility rates among the trees to get them bear more fruits".

While top management approved of the orders, Davidson was constantly reminded that Sabah estates' oil palm yields were lower than in Johor and Cameroon.

Undeterred and unconvinced by textbook knowledge which claimed that palm fruits were wind-pollinated and that heavy rain washes pollen away, Davidson arranged for more research to prove that pollination in West Africa was largely due to weevils which were not found in Malaysia.

Under Davidson's instruction, Dr Kang Siew Ming, Zam Karim, Dr Tay Eong Beok and Mahbob went to Cameroon to assess the work of Dr Rahman Anwar Syed, the entomologist who was assigned to study oil palm pollination by insects in Africa, especially the Elaieidobius kamerunicus specie.

"It ended up with the two ladies Dr Kang and Zam climbing the oil palm trees," Mahbob said.

Asked what he and and Dr Tay did while the ladies were up on the trees, Mahbob replied, "we stood underneath and made sure that they didn't fall down".

Jokes aside, Mahbob is most probably remembered among members of East Malaysia Planters Association for being the very persuasive money collector for the RM2 million weevils project.

The Unilever Group was the first to pay but Sabah Land Development Board was the biggest contributor.

Incidentally, the estates that Davidson and Mahbob used to work and live in Johor and Sabah are now owned by IOI Corp Bhd. To this day, the almost 70-year-old IOI Group executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng still makes his regular rounds at these estates.

Lee's talent in serenading Tamil songs to his oil palm trees may seem surprising to many but it reflected Incorporated Society of Planters (ISP) requirement that all planters must be proficient in commonly-used languages at the estates.

Davidson recalled preparing for the Malay and Hakka language tests almost 60 years ago. At that time, the ISP examiner said, "You will find Hakka very useful in North Borneo," and asked, "Nyi thuk-ko-kai shu, han ki-tet mau? (Do you still remember your studies?)"

Davidson replied, "Yit pan ki-tet, yit pan mong-ki liau. (Half remember, half forgotten.)

The examiner liked what he heard and Davidson passed the Hakka test with flying colours.

Mahbob was also lucky. In his second book entitled "Planter Upriver", Mahbob told how he was slow to start learning Tamil but eventually aced the test.

At that time, Mahbob's contract as an assistant manager at Tanah Merah Estate in Tangkak, Johor, required him to pass the Tamil language test. He found a very patient tutor in Krishnan, an 18-year-old son of a worker. Also, Mahbob's love for Tamil and Hindi movies might have helped.

Asked if he is able to sing Tamil songs, he winked and smiled, "If Tan Sri Lee invites me to his estates, I certainly don't mind a duet".

Source here

Property groups find asset sales tough going

A SERIES of aborted divestments by Singapore property groups lately highlights the challenges of relying on asset sales in the current environment.

Last weekend’s edition of BT featured two stories on the same page, on Singapore’s two biggest listed property groups - CapitaLand and City Developments Ltd (CDL). Both are in the same boat, with their respective planned divestments of overseas assets not completed.

CDL’s London-listed hotel subsidiary Millennium & Copthorne Hotels announced that the agreement for the disposal of Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel to Korean group Kangho AMC Co had been terminated as the buyer was unable to finalise its financing arrangements amid the global financial turmoil.

CapitaLand’s 30 per cent-owned associate Inverfin Sdn Bhd, which owns Menara Citibank tower in KL, reported that the sale-and-purchase agreement for the sale of the office tower had been terminated as the buyer, IOI Corporation Bhd, did not pay the balance purchase price on the completion date.

There have also been instances of transactions of Singapore buildings not being completed. Ho Bee announced last month that its proposed $30 million sale of Frontech Centre, an industrial building in Bukit Merah, had fallen through. The buyer is understood to have been US fund group Angelo Gordon. BT also reported last month that Australian property fund manager Blaxland did not go ahead with completing its planned acquisitions of eSys Technologies’ building in Changi North and SH Cogent Logistics’ warehouse building in Penjuru Close in Jurong.

The pullouts reflect the difficult conditions for property investment sales, caused by several factors. Firstly, funding is tight. But even potential buyers with financial muscle may get cold feet or decide it simply makes more sense to walk away from their purchase now and forfeit the deposit, as sliding property values will present more attractive investment propositions in due time. There may also be other issues at play, such as exchange rate fluctuations. For instance, from a potential buyer’s perspective, the Aussie dollar’s 21 per cent depreciation against the Singapore dollar in the past three months would make purchasing Singapore properties less attractive.

Putting things in perspective, a seasoned property consultant said: ‘The current climate makes asset sales difficult, whether you’re selling an apartment or a shopping centre.’

Property groups will have difficulty selling assets even to their sponsored real estate investment trusts (Reits). With the stockmarket slide, Reits are trading at very high yields, which makes it difficult for them to make yield-accretive acquisitions. And the current tight funding environment affects Reits as well; their priority these days is refinancing existing debt instead of sourcing new debt for further acquisitions.

The situation is likely to continue for at least the new few quarters; that will have implications for Singapore’s property groups. Heavyweight CapitaLand has booked handsome profits from divesting assets in the past few years. In the past two years, the group has divested some $9 billion of assets - an exercise that has generated well over $1 billion in profits.

The group still has other assets that it could potentially divest, such as its industrial property portfolio here and even some of the office blocks held by its sponsored Reit CapitaCommercial Trust.

Prior to the global financial crash, CapitaLand would have had a high chance of success if it had continued on its path of asset disposals. Now, buyers are scarce and even those that are around would demand distressed sale prices (as cushion against further declines in property values after their purchase).

The trying financial climate will affect asset divestment strategies of even a heavyweight like CapitaLand. But at least it has stronger financial muscle to weather this storm even if it can’t make major divestments in the near future.

Smaller players are not in the same boat. Some companies burdened with heavy debt and which had been hoping to unload some of their properties to improve their balance sheets will be caught if they can’t sell their assets.

Hopefully, the malaise in the property investment sales market will not drag on too long.

Source : Business Times - 2 Dec 2008

IOI aborts Menara Citibank purchase

by Khalil Adis

IOI Corporation Berhad´s has aborted its proposed RM586.7 million acquisition of Menara Citibank, causing it to forfeit an earlier payment of RM73.4 million, the company has revealed in a statement.

The company cited the worsening global financial crisis as the reason why it has decided to call off the acquisition.

“Due to the recent sudden adverse developments in the global economic environment which have spread to this region and impacted negatively on business sentiments, the company has, after due and careful deliberations, decided that it would be in the overall best interests of the company and its shareholders not to proceed with the proposed acquisition,” IOI Corporation said in a statement.

IOI Corporation made agreements with the various vendors last August comprising Citigroup unit, Menara Citi Holding Company Sdn Bhd (50 percent), CapitaLand (30 percent) and Amsteel Sdn Bhd (20 percent).

It became unconditional on 31 October and the due date for payment of the balance of the purchase price was 11 November.

IOI Corporation then received a letter from the vendors´ solicitors dated 26 November, stating they were terminating the agreement with immediate effect. The sum of RM73.4 million paid earlier, together with accrued interest, was forfeited as liquidated images.

IOI Corporation said it is currently seeking seeking legal advice as to the propriety and quantum of the aforesaid forfeiture.

Plantation firms to buy more land

CPO price downtrend provides opening for expansion

PETALING JAYA: Cash-rich local plantation companies will actively expand their land bank within the next five years via acquisitions of green fields, existing oil palm plantations and distressed planters.

Analysts believe the current downtrend in the crude palm oil (CPO) prices would provide local planters the advantage in sourcing for more attractively priced plantation land in favourite locations like Sabah, Sarawak and Indonesia.

The commodity boom over the past five years saw many tier-one and tier-two local planters accumulating healthy cash in the range of RM450mil to over RM1.4bil.

Of late, plantation giants like IOI Corp Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, which each has a cash pile of over RM1bil, have indicated strong intentions to progressively expand plantation hectarage.

Major planters like Kulim (M) Bhd, Hap Seng Plantations Bhd, IJM Plantations Bhd, Asiatic Development Bhd and Ta Ann Holdings Bhd are also in the midst of acquiring more land bank.

Jupiter Securities head of research Pong Teng Siew told StarBiz that plantation companies had not been actively paying out the best dividends, particularly last year.

“Many seem to be hoarding their cash to embark on new land bank acquisitions.”

Production gain is slow in production.

Said Pong: “Planters need to grow by acquiring more land bank and progressively undertake replanting activities with high yielding clones.”

He concurred that land bank acquisition was the major strategy of local oil palm planters.

In Sabah, plantation land can fetch up to RM15,000 to RM16,000 per acre currently compared with only RM5,000 per acre in the late 1990s.

Sarawak plantation land is even higher at RM18,000 to RM20,000 per acre.

As for Indonesia, the land price is about half Sabah’s prices.

Pong said the major obstacle faced by most Malaysian plantation companies in the republic was mainly the land ownership issue despite the availability of huge tracks of plantation land.

IOI Corp group executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng recently said the group was keen to acquire more land in Malaysia rather than Indonesia.

“Given the current market uncertainties, we prefer to increase our land bank in Malaysia but in Indonesia, we will continue with new planting efforts,” he added.

His view was shared by Hap Seng Plantations group managing director Edward Lee Ming Foo.

Lee was quoted recently as saying that Hap Seng Plantations was looking at expanding its acreage in Sabah, where most of its plantations are located.

Planters that are still gung-ho over Indonesia’s prospects include IJM Plantations and Sime Darby.

Sime Darby group chief executive Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid said recently the group was eyeing green field plantations in Indonesia. It will also consider buying distressed plantation companies.

Memories My first replanting

We had an area of very old rubber.The area had been abandoned from tapping very much earlier.The stand was old rubber seedlings,many very huge trees and I estimated the stand per acre was slightly more than a hundred.

The inter-rows was in horrible state,full of wild grown wild rubber seedlings.The sized of these seedlings were beyond imaginations.Apparently the inter-rows were neglected long ago.For tapping they just cleared the tappers' path,that was all.

In 1971 we decided to replant it,So we called out for a reliable contractor.At that time rubber wood was in no demand.Many came the Boss himself selected one contractor and began cutting the trees in November 1971.

Unfortunately this contractors absconded after cutting down all the trees
for he feared he could not finish the contract on time.Lucky we did not over paid him.

We have difficulties finding a replacement so we decided to finish the job ourselves.So I took over.Initially I recruited another contractor to supply some chainsaw men to continue cutting the fallen trees into movable lengths.

Following I got some extra temporary workers recruited from nearby kampongs.We were fortunate because the estate was next to a Malay kampong.Most Javanese workers with one of them as headman.

So with them we roughly stacked the fallen wood onto the trunk.When the wood were drier we set fire to them just before we go home.Every day it was l like that.And I was with them from morning till evening.

As routine we re-stacked all the unburnt wood onto the huge trunk etc.and reburnt them,until all completely burnt off.By burning all the rubber wood like this we unnoticiably also destroyed all the wild rubber seedlings.

It took us nearly three months to completely cleared the field of 130 acs.,three months of hot sun and I was as dark as an all the Javanese workers.There was no doubt that the costs were high but we cannot help as we could not get another contractor to finish the job.

After this we plotted out the roads and also did lining for the replanting to Oil Palms.The roads were laid with laterites from our own hill.

We began planting in September 1972,with on set of the rainy seasons.Before we started planting we had a visitor,my Boss's friend,he came to see how we were planting.

I waited for him at the office and he came in his car.Thereafter I droved him to the replanting field.This guy on reaching the field rushed at the first palm planted by a worker earlier and began kicking it with his leather shoes.""See,no firm planting".

I was surprised at his action and said if I did not wait for him this would not have happened.I told him off because he was only a visitor.Anyway I told him if he wants my job he can have it.He kept quiet.

Later I learned that he was a Petrol Pump Owner (Mobil) in old Kelang Road.He was a pineapple planter.He later after this became Manager of Bidor Bahru Estate.To day he is a giant in the planting world.Like to know who? He is the shorty Lee Shin Cheng.Believe it or not.

We did an excellent job with our replanting and we completed it on time.The Boss was very pleased with it.

As for Mr.Lee I was told is still kicking lallang in his group of Estates.

Source here