Welcome to my vocational Taj Mahal

Vocational training seems primed for a push under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. The Youth and Sports Ministry is targeting 520 National Youth Skills Institutes (IKBN) to be built all around the country during that period.

Its Minister, Datuk Azalina Othman Said said this is to cater for the overwhelming interest shown by youths to undergo training at these centers. Good on you, Datuk.

What catches my eye is this. And it better be a mistake.

“A standard IKBN in an urban area or growth centre would cost RM100 million to build while in a smaller rural constituency, it would cost less, she told reporters, here Monday,” reports Bernama.

RM100 million for each school.

Gasp. She cannot be serious. Or is she?

Look, I’ve never handled any of these government projects before, but my architect buddies and I have done a fair bit of private sector mixed-use commercial and residential projects. Those projects should provide some framework for reference.

An average RM55 million – or half the value of each purported school – gets you about 150 medium-end apartment units complete with full clubhouse amenities like tennis courts, swimming pool, squash courts, gym, reading room, security system and CCTV and a 6-storey commercial complex (retail and offices) with elevators, escalators and air-conditioning, and required car-parking facilities. And given the occupant use and loading, more expensive life-safety equipment is also included eg smoke extraction system, fire sprinklers and alarm, smoke curtains etc.

Or a more pointed reference: The sales tag for the 35-storey MAS Building in prime real estate Jalan Sultan Ismail is going for a reserve RM130 million.

RM100 million building budget for each school…

Way cool, government. Unless you were planning on Burmese teak floors and Barcelona Chairs, please explain.


p.s. You know how it is when all is dark and you can’t see, your other senses pick up the slack? That’s how it is with transparency and governance. Because you, the ruling party, operate under a cloak, every government-issued report however small churned out by the media is scrutinized for aberrations. See, you’ve made me sharp.

I’m watching. Others are too.