When Christians March

This is a second article written by a long standing Calvary Church Member who is working in the construction industry.

Not too long ago, a mainline newspaper columnist who is also a professor in the faculty of law of a local university, captioned his article ‘When Lawyers March’. It was after a tumultuous march by some lawyers over their concern on some draconian legislature, which they believed are not only unfair for the general populace, but meant to muzzle them into submission. The gist of his article was that when lawyers take to the street, something is seriously wrong with the legal system in the country. After all, it is not your normal cup of teh tarik, that those much learned men and women in black take to the street. So, in the same context, what is the significance when Christians or more specifically, Calvarites march?

Christians are not known for their aggressiveness but rather for their submissiveness. They are not power crazy like some politicians, usually turning the other cheek when faced with a not too pleasant situation. So it was quite a surprise when a group of Calvarites gathered one Saturday morning in April 2010 and marched to the church office in Damansara Perdana to hand over a Memorandum to PG, who, much earlier had been given notice to be present to receive the Memorandum.

The whole saga had started innocuously enough , but much water have flowed under the bridge, culminating to the point where the group of Calvarites decided to resort to such drastic and loud action. Most of those events have been documented in the blog, where if one is curious enough, would be able to get a good grasp of the whole and comprehensive episode gripping the church.

Some time ago, I have written an article on the Calvary Convention Centre, titled, ‘Abraham was looking forward to a city…..’ The article was to dispel a number of half-truths (to put in midly) as well as to awaken the people so as not to be led by the nose by a so-called ‘vision from God’. After that, I have no intention of writing anymore as I realised that, up to this point, if those people who still have not awaken, would not be moved by whatsoever, tsunami notwithstanding. However, recently, there is a great vexation in my spirit, as I continue to see and hear more and more lies, deceptions, half-truths and what-nots being churned out by PG and his trusted cohorts.

Before I go further, let me say this to the glory of God that I thank God for the more than 30 years in the building industry, so I know what I am talking about, on CCC. I have also ‘paid’ my share for the building of a 5,000 seating capacity church (not a signature building and definitely not a extravagant and flamboyant project to show off), so as to silence the critics that I belong to the so-called "Sanballat, Tobiah and others" gang.

When SK (had to) make an official announcement on the CCC, it was akin to telling everyone the world is round. I believe it was the worst kept secret (but still in a make-believe atmosphere) that work had already stopped; it had stopped some 6 months back. Here again, as I have mentioned in the previous article, he still has to inject some feel-good feelings in the announcement, hence, he announced that the completion would be delayed till November 2010. This is to give the impression that the church still has control over the whole grandiose project, still calling the shots (read bluff). Not even the slightest inkling that the project might be in trouble must be revealed, or else the vision that was told to everyone that it was from God might be in jeopardy and worse, money would not come in.

When a main contractor underperformed, or worse, doesn’t perform, it spells big trouble, especially so with the kind of contract drawn up between CC and NF, where NF was given an advance of RM 8 million and with a corporate guarantee as performance bond, it’s double whammy, to say the least. There is no recourse I can think of, and I am not sure whether NF has paid back the advance at the time of the stoppage.

Recent events including the announcement during the prayer meeting, where members were ‘seemingly given 3 choices, but actually have no other choice than to fork out more money to rescue the vision.

They were also told of the imminent award to the friendly party contractor, subject to an endorsement by the members in an AGM, but were curtailed by the court injunction granted to the 7 plaintifs. To make it more interesting, they were even told that the validity of the quotation was expiring soon, as if like they would miss the boat of getting a big bargain if it is not awarded soon.

The following are my questions (for both packages, NF as well as the prospective contractor), hopefully, someone would be able to enlighten me:

1) Was there a pre-tender qualification exercise?

2) Was there an opened and closed tender?

3) Was there a tender report?

4) Was the recommendations by the consultants taken into consideration?

5) Was there a tender at all, or was it a negotiated deal? Was told by one original tenderer that they were approached to take over when NF defaulted, but there was no follow-up after that. If it was negotiated, who made the final decisions, was the decision above board?

6) How much money was paid to NF :

a. for work done,
b. for materials on site,
c. for work done off-site, but not installed?

NF would still have to be paid, or at least have the final account settled, for them to issue a letter of release for the new kid on the block to take over. If at all the determination of the contract is acrimonious, it could take years to settle the mess, a good example is the Plaza Rakyat project, that went into dispute and had been stalled for almost 20 years. Therefore for SK to announce that the completion would be delayed by a year at that time was preposterous to say the least.

7) What was the percentage :

a. of work done,
b. of the work that can be salvaged,
c. of the balance in terms of the financial curve in the master programme of NF?

8) How much more are we paying for the balance of the work; in terms of preliminaries, warranties and taking the risks for works executed by NF, rectification of defects by NF, wastages, etc. to the new contractor, as definitely , there would be a premium in the pricing to cover the cost of all those uncertainties – compared with (7 c) of the above?

9) Any deviations from the approved plans?:

a. we were only shown the perspective, but I reckon there would be numerous changes (due to ‘value-engineering with no compromise in design and quality, so claimed ex-deacon, homelife leader, CCC sterling committee chairman, engineer, brother or just recently, Dato HJK, or would he add on and enhance the trimmings since he, using the name of God also asked ‘Am I not worth more than these?’)

b. Is the whole project being implemented or just the convention centre, leaving the rest, shell and core?; which would give rise to a host of other problems, such as expiry of the defects liability period for those shell and core buildings (no defects detected as these are not in use and with the expiry, the contractor is not liable to rectify), double or triple handling, re-excavation, coring or hacking the structure for M&E fixtures such as cabling, sanitary, plumbing, etc. (subsequent works by other sub-contractors would nullify the warranties and the liability for the defects for works executed by the main contractor- we lose out again). Issues with authorities, in resubmitting plans to depict future extensions or phases, payment of plan fees, deposits, contributions, etc.

10) Why the need for the members to endorse the award, especially since the leadership had never feel the need to get the members’ consent ever, since those who opposed have been dumped and those who remain are docile; is it also to cover the previous mistakes pertaining to NF? This is most dangerous, as the leadership, with one stroke, would wipe their slates clean –give your money and don’t question later as you have endorsed the project, both present and previous. Members are now asked to ratify their past decision (after thought exercise) thereby taking all responsibilities for the failure of the project because the members approved it at an AGM. Thank God this has not happened yet.

11) There is no impending rise in the price of steel, cement or other building materials, the Government had just abolished the need for a license to deal in steel and cement. In fact, the market is still very soft. The validity of the quotations can easily be extended by another 3 or 6 months; in fact, I have extended a tender for a project by more than a year. A letter of intent could also be given to lock in the prospective contractor or actual award could be given, without confirming on the date for possession of site; in other words, the contractor would commence later with the duration of his master programme commencing on the day he was given the site.

All these options could be exercised, instead of pushing the blame to the 7 plaintiffs, who by the way have obtained the injunction to stop an unjust AGM being convened. If at all, endorsement is required from the members, it would be an EGM instead of an AGM. So what is all this about not being able to get the members’ endorsement because of the injunction, is it not merely finding a scapegoat for a face-saving measure for the announcement by SK as well as the announcement that the project would commence soon, but until now, had still to see the light of day?

12) With this ‘comedy of errors’, in terms of cost, choice of the much-heralded Freemason Architect– can still remember vividly the nonchalant manner he admitted the RM100 million mistake (it did not even border him, it was just sheer arrogance) and award to a non-performing contractor, the only persons laughing (all the way to the bank) are the consultants while Calvarites and the people at large are bled high and dry.

We have to seriously consider, is the vision from God or man?
Is God testing our faith by putting all these obstacles or is He telling us something else?

The amount of money going down the drain caused by the stoppage and resumption of works could be put to better use in reaching out to the poor and needy. Without doubt in the mind of PG and leaders are no matter what, CCC would be built, to silence those who questioned, just so to save face, but at what cost?

This is not only in monetary terms, but spiritual, emotional and mental, where so many lives have been affected, by the propaganda, the half-truths and deceits. In the meantime, PG and his cohorts are still milking those ‘loyal and faithful servants’ of PG as well as the unsuspecting public at large.

Order of the day is still, give, give and keep giving. Latest was that they would be embarking on another ‘advance ‘ from the members for an targeted amount of RM35 million, with the event to be held at SDCC, maybe to reach those in the higher strata of society, who might not want to go to church but whose wallets bulge with wads of banknotes.

They even trumpeted that they have got approval from Bank Negara for this exercise, meaning, if you read between the lines, the previous advance they requested from the members was without approval and if you are still reading between the lines, there exists a vacancy for someone for a cameo role, to lodge a report with BNM.

The Million dollar question here: Is this the amount needed to cover the difference between the original contract to NF and the new?

This article certainly is not a tsunami in the making, as mentioned earlier, even a tsunami would not awaken those who have cast their lots, (in stone as well) to be with PG and hold on to their misguided faith. In fact, if at all they read this article, they would dig in their heels and harden their hearts and deem this to be of the devil and his demons. All I hope with this article is some forthright answers to the above-mentioned questions or to those of you who have been enlightened, would you like to march?

Yes, would you march once more, to submit another Memorandum to PG, seeking answers to all these pertinent questions and not be satisfied or being muzzled into accepting answers such as ‘you give and don’t ask’ and “you just endorse and don’t ask questions”?

When Christians march, they are standing up to be counted, being not satisfied with ‘legally right but morally wrong / legally right but procedural wrong answers’ or being told that these are personal questions or questions to be addressed at another platform ( a phrase much used by PG to wriggle or scurry away, actions most appropriate of him), which by the way will never be forthcoming.

Christians march to put a stop to the rot and decadence that have not only crept in, but being established in the church, to the extent that nothing is taboo anymore, where minutes can be falsified, dubious decisions ratified retrospectively, funds for and from Missions work diverted to PG’s personal ministry, maneuvering in place a team of lackeys to serve in God’s name but are actually catering to PG’s whims and fancies, practice of nepotism and cronyism, arbitrarily removing discerning members who questioned and sacking an ex-deacon who dared to be a whistle blower.

Christians march to stand up for righteousness, justice, Truth, Transparency and Godly-governance as the God they serve demands such standards as these.

The clarion call had been sounded, Onward Christian Soldiers…….