A Standoff in Scotland Over Donald Trump’s Golf Resort Ambitions

Landowner and Local Officials Resist, But National Government Intervenes

By Kevin Sullivan

Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, December 7, 2007; Page A30

LONDON, Dec. 6 — When fisherman and farmer Michael Forbes looks at his 23 acres on the wind-scoured coastline of northeastern Scotland, he sees home, a humble jumble of a place where the salmon fishing is good and his 83-year-old mother lives in a cozy trailer.

When Donald Trump looks at Forbes’s land, he sees a sliver of his latest mega-development plan: Europe’s largest golf and housing resort, a 1,400-acre, $2 billion complex of two championship courses and hundreds of hotel rooms, houses and time-share villas a few miles north of Aberdeen.

The vastly different views of the down-home Scotsman and the flamboyant New Yorker came to a head in October when Trump offered Forbes about $790,000 for his property — well above market value.

The Scot said no. “This place is not for sale,” Forbes, 55, said in a telephone interview. “He seems to think everything is for sale.”

The standoff is at the center of a controversy over Trump’s latest megaproject that is firing passions so deep that a British businessman this week offered to pay more than $1.5 million for the land just to stand in Trump’s way.

When local government officials rejected the project last week, Trump threatened to walk away — perhaps to go over to Northern Ireland, where government ministers said they would welcome his big-bucks development.

As Trump was meeting in New York this week with the Rev. Ian Paisley, head of the government of Northern Ireland, the Scottish government took control of Trump’s application. Scottish leader Alex Salmond, whose constituency includes the proposed development, issued a statement saying Trump’s plan “raises issues of importance” that require consideration at his level.

That move reflected the eagerness of much of the local Aberdeen business community to proceed with Trump’s economy-charging project.

More than 12,000 people have signed a petition on the Web site of 10 Downing Street, the British prime minister’s office, supporting Trump. And officials at Aberdeen’s Evening Express newspaper said they had received 5,000 online petition signatures and 1,000 handwritten letters of support, swamping opposition.

Full article can be found here:

Oct 11, 2007
Selangor politician unveils ‘palace’
He says mansion was built to house extended family, not for show off
LESS than a year after coming under fire for extravagance and alleged corruption, a controversial Umno politician has unveiled his 16-bedroom mansion in Selangor.A beaming Datuk Zakaria Mat Deros moved into the two-and-a-half storey house with 21 bathrooms on Wednesday.He hosted a dinner for some orphans with the media allowed to tag along, Sin Chew Daily reported. This open-hearted gesture is a far cry from last year when his aides stopped reporters from entering the house which was then under construction. He had also tearfully said it was never his intention to ’show off’ by building the huge mansion in Klang town. The Klang township encompasses Malaysia’s biggest port, Port Klang, and the Sultan of Selangor has his Istana (palace) in the area. But locals in Kampung Idaman, where the house is situated, have their own palace – they have dubbed the mansion as Istana Datuk Zakaria. The 61-year old politician did not say much last Wednesday, but showed photographers around the house which sits on a 40,000 sq m land. The mansion has a large koi pond and a swimming pool. The floor of the main hall is laid with top-quality marble with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. On the grounds is a mini golf course, Sin Chew Daily said. Datuk Zakaria is a Selangor state assemblyman and was a councillor with the Klang Municipal Council. When news broke that he was building the house without proper permits from regulators, he came under heavy fire from the opposition and media commentators. It was then discovered that he was also running a popular satay restaurant in Klang without a permit. The restaurant was demolished by the authorities. There were also allegations that he bought the land on which the mansion sits at below market prices from a state agency. He has denied the allegations. Under pressure, he stepped down from his post as Klang town councillor. Datuk Zakaria, a former railway gate-keeper who became one of Selangor Umno’s most powerful politicians, was then living in a small two storey house. He had tearfully told the media: ‘It was never my intention to boast or show off by building a bigger house which has been called ‘Istana Datuk Zakaria’ by some.’ ‘My wife and I merely wanted a more comfortable dwelling for our 11 children, seven daughters- and sons-in-law as well as 11 grandchildren,’ he added.

Contrasted to the civic-minded(?), if rather perplexing, choice of home design of Seoul’s Sim Jae Duck, Istana Datuk Zakaria seems like a really bad abuse of power. The house, if the article has been extrapolated from correctly, was built on land purchased at below market prices, not built according to regulations and possibly from funds siphoned off his illegal ’satay kajang’ stall;p

I was wondering- if there are 11 children(including seven daughters), sons-in-law and 11 grandchildren, how many people are sharing a room in the 16-bedroom mansion?

What I can conclude- there are 4 sons,presumably unmarried since there’s no mention of daughters-in-law. Out of the seven daughters, I can’t be sure how many are married since the numbers of sons-in-law has not been mentioned.

Or am I reading this wrong- there are 11 children, of whom are his 7 daughters, the other 4 being his sons-in-law, which means 5 rooms are taken up by the married daughters and him. The other 3 daughters are assumed to have their own rooms, leaving 8 rooms to be divided between 11 grandchildren…

Full report(but not the solution to the above) can be found here:

Oct 11, 2007
Clean loo campaigner to open toilet-shaped home
The 419sq metre concrete and glass toilet house is rising on the site of Sim’s former home in his native city of Suweon, Seoul. — PHOTO: REUTERS SEOUL – SIM JAE DUCK was born in a restroom and now he plans to live and die in one – a US$1.6 million (S$2.34 million) toilet-shaped house designed to promote his tireless campaign for cleaner loos worldwide. Mr Sim will open what is billed as the world’s one and only toilet house on November 11 to mark the launch of his World Toilet Association. The 419sq metre concrete and glass structure is rising on the site of Sim’s former home in his native city of Suweon, 40km south of Seoul. Before he moves in, anyone who is flush with funds can rent it for US$50,000 a day – with proceeds going to his campaign to provide poor countries with proper sanitary facilities. Apart from two bedrooms, two guestrooms and other rooms, the two-storey house – of course – features three deluxe toilets. Unlike the giant ‘toilet’ in which they are located, they will not be see-through affairs. ‘A showcase bathroom screened by a glass wall is located in its centre, while other toilets have elegant fittings or water conservation devices,’ Mr Sim. The showcase loo will feature a device producing a mist to make users feel secure. An electronic sensor will raise the lid automatically when people enter, and there will also be music for patrons. The house, complete with a stream and small garden in front, is named Haewoojae, meaning ‘a place of sanctuary where one can solve one’s worries’. Mr Sim’s birth in a restroom was in line with traditional beliefs. ‘It was intentional. My mother followed advice from my grandmother that people born in restrooms will enjoy long lives,’ said the 74-year-old. Mr Sim’s campaign began during his term as Suweon mayor from 1995 to 2002. His drive to transform toilets into ‘clean and beautiful resting places imbued with culture’ earned him the nickname ‘Mayor Toilet’. Public restrooms in the city were jazzed up with paintings, fresh flowers or even small gardens. His achievements prompted Mr Sim to launch the Korea Toilet Association in 1999, in time for South Korea’s co-hosting with Japan of the football World Cup three years later. Then he decided to take his clean toilets drive worldwide. The proposed World Toilet Association might be seen to rival squeaky-clean Singapore, where the World Toilet Organisation is based, but Sim has said the work of the two bodies will not overlap. Indeed, he hopes his toilet house will highlight the global need for better sanitation. ‘My family has already agreed to preserve this house as a symbol of South Korea’s new toilet culture after my death,’ he said. ‘The house will be remembered as an example of saving mankind from diseases and protecting the environment.’ Mr Sim, a member of parliament, will host the World Toilet Association’s inaugural meeting which he hopes will attract 300 representatives from 70 countries. On the final day he plans to invite all participants to his house, which he said ‘envisions a new concept to place toilets in the centre of our life’. Mr Sim said his campaign will focus on setting international standards for clean public toilets, adding that countries such as Mongolia, Indonesia, Turkey and Brazil are actively supporting it. — AFP

The comments box has attracted some punters. Register the reactions here:

Some of the more interesting loos in hotels:
I shouldn’t be surprised given that it’s a design-centric Hotel chain but there’s a string that you can pull- with a tag that says ‘pull during times of emergency’ that kind of flashes an image of you slipping on the floor in the middle of a shower, also a hotel on the edge of the Bosphorus with a personal hammam, one in Syria with some of the most intricate baths yet, another in old Lamu town with a toilet that reminds me of the old kampung toilets with the exception of the very intricate detailing on the ceilings. Doubt anyone actually uses it (I did- but not before checking that it was actually functional), a villa with a perspex floor(just in case you get bored) and it’d be so wrong to call these loos because they’re just showers but the ones in East Africa overlooking the Serengeti are just glorious:

On their ‘About’ page:
IntoTheBox is all about peering inside the surreal housing market here in New York City. With approximately 13 million people residing in the New York Metropolitan area — and available housing at an absolute premium — it’s no wonder the market has been compared to a blood sport. People will lie, cheat and steal for a small slice of the scrumptious real estate pie.

IntoTheBox takes a look at the news, trends and politics of the NYC real estate market. The stories here are even better than fiction.

Have not seen anything interesting in the ‘Behind the Scenes’ section yet(which requires registration) but probably because it’s new?

Correct me if I’m reading this wrongly- but the comedy show is for the benefit of a real estate developer’s 50th ‘birthday’? I (heart) Jit Murad!

Singapore developers should organise something more cerebral- unlike the appalling 007-themed event for a by-invitation only launch for a condominium in Cairnhill.

Full story here:

3F Comedy for YTL Corps 50th birthday. KLPAC Professional, but not so funny. Malaysia’s funniest comedians, namely Harith Iskander, Jit Murad and Afdlin Shauki

I went up to Sentul a northen suburb where an old barracks is being turned into a luxury park housing estate by YTL. 3 comedians did stand up and then talked together. Interesting to see Malaysian cultural aspects each used parts of 3 languages, but I think this diluted the comedy. Some material was OK, but nothing brilliant. One piece was saying how more difficult it is for comedians compared to singers. You don’t go to a Madonna concert and say “I’ve heard that song before, sing us a new one.”, Firstly that shows how more talented comedians are than singers, and actually if you do write “great comedy”, like Monty Pythons : Dead Parrot or the 3 Yorkshiremen then people will pay to see it again.

They were much better than modern UK comedians who don’t know any jokes, but 2 of Jit’s were recycled schoolboy jokes. Stories about traditional Malaysian sports or Malay attitudes towards making babies, or immigration officers were interesting, but not really funny.

Unlike the police state of Singapore there was surprising little evidence of self censorship , politicians were named and criticised, no-one had a problem about Jit talking about being gay. But overall it was pretty like, not cutting like Ben Elton.

Adlin.. Good one about fat “I have chosen to be different,not a conformist like you all”, “I can be sure my wife loves me for my personality.”