'Brunei 3rd in Asia's fuel subsidy list' (The Brunei Times)

Published in the April 10, 2013 issue of The Brunei Times

Click here for original story

'Brunei 3rd in Asia's fuel subsidy list'

Jennee Grace U Rubrico
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

THE fuel subsidy the sultanate gives to its people is among the highest in Asia when considered as a share of its economy, a report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) shows.A ranking of 11 Asian countries that provide a fuel consumption subsidy in the 2013 Asian Development Outlook puts Brunei third, after Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The fuel subsidies provided by Brunei, which according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) is the biggest net exporter of oil liquids in the Asia Pacific, account for over three per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) as of 2010, the report states.

The Oxford Business Group, in its country report on Brunei for 2011, placed the sultanate's GDP in 2010 at $11.846 billion at constant prices.

The country of about 400,000 people offers fuel prices of between 30 cents and 60 cents at the pump.
Statistics from the country's Royal Customs and Excise Department show that Brunei's prices for Super 92 petrol, as of May 2010, were about 22 cents per litre cheaper than in east Malaysia's Limbang, while Premium 97 was about 27 cents per litre cheaper.

The country produced 155,000 barrels of oil a day in January to September 2012 lower than the 166,000 barrels a day it produced in 2011.

Bangladesh, which tops the ADB list, provides subsidies that eat up five per cent of its GDP. Pakistan, meanwhile, provides subsidies translating to more than four per cent of its economy, according to the ADB.

Vietnam and Thailand trail Brunei, with subsidies accounting for around 2.8 per cent of their respective economies.

Placing sixth was Malaysia, which provides subsidies translating to around 2.5 per cent of its GDP.
Former OPEC member Indonesia, which subsidises fuel by as much as 2.5 per cent of its economy, came in seventh.

Other countries in the list were India, where fuel subsidies are estimated to be around 1.5 per cent of its GDP; Sri Lanka, at one per cent; the Philippines, at around 0.6 per cent, and China, at around 0.5 per cent.
Noting that governments impose consumer subsidies to guarantee affordability and protect households from potential shocks of fuel price increases, the ADB nevertheless stressed that the move artificially reduces the price of energy and encourages over consumption.

Simulations done by the bank show a US$0.25 ($0.30) per litre increase in fuel prices causes a 4.5 per cent decline in the real income of households in the Asia Pacific.

"Such subsidies are well-intentioned, or at least popular, but they increase energy consumption, distort energy development planning, and, when applied unevenly, provide incentives for adulteration and illegal cross-border sales," the report states.

It added that while subsidies were meant to help the poor, the less well-off "benefit little" from reduced fuel prices.

"If the intent is to make energy more affordable to the poor, only the poorest 20 percentile should benefit from the subsidy. In fact, the poor in Asia benefit little from subsidised fuel prices because many lack electricity and gas connections, few own vehicles, and most transport sparingly," it said.

Citing a study by the IEA, the ADB noted that in nine Asian countries with the highest fossil fuel subsidies and two countries in Africa, only 15 per cent of the benefit of kerosene subsidies and five per cent of subsides for liquefied petroleum gas went to the poorest 20th percentile.

In the meantime, the amount that the government shoulders "puts pressure on the budget and external account".

The ADB recommends that economies switch from general transfers to targeted subsidies to benefit the poor and reduce over consumption.

"Poor households are identified for benefits like food distribution, education support, and medical treatment. The energy subsidy could be similarly targeted," it said.

"For example, a cash payment scaled for the energy used by a typical energy-poor household, not tied to the households' energy consumption, would extend access without encouraging wasteful use."

It said this system would give beneficiaries an incentive to use less energy and keep the surplus from the payout to fund other needs.

"This achieves the objective of restraining energy use without creating the perverse incentives that so frequently drive energy systems off track.

"Replacing general energy subsidies with subsidies targeting the energy poor can immediately restrain energy demand without denying those in need. It can go a long way towards laying the foundation for Asian energy security," the ADB said. The Brunei Times

Zoomania (BusinessWorld)

published in the November 9 , 2012 issue of BusinessWorld. Click here for the original article.

Focus

Posted on 06:03 PM, November 08, 2012
Text and Photos by Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Zoomania

Under artificial lighting that approximates the gleam of the moon, lions roar, tigers swim in a pool inside their enclosure, and owls stare hard from inside their cage. The animals that are awake are on hunt mode, but content themselves with feeding on prey that’s served dead.

OTTERS interact with the visitors of the zoo

It is 8.30 p.m. at the Taiping Night Safari, and while the day walkers sleep in their darkened cages, the nocturnal mammals, reptiles, and birds lose the lethargy that weighs them down at daytime. They now have full use of their faculties, and in the limited space that they have, are raring to get the night going.
Sitting on a 14-hectare piece of land in the heart of Taiping’s Lake Gardens, the Zoo Taiping & Night Safari is noteworthy in a number of ways. The 51-year-old zoo is the oldest in Malaysia, having hosted fauna since 1961. It is also the only night safari in peninsular Malaysia, and is a breeding center for some of the world’s endangered animals. The animal park has also put the sleepy town of Taiping, in the state of Perak, on the country’s tourism map.

A baby elephant bred at the conservation center
 walks with adults in their enclosure

Every year, 700,000 visitors go to the town north of Kuala Lumpur to visit the animal park, Hanim Ramly, the head of Taiping’s Tourism, Education and Publicity Division, said in an interview.
The visitors are mostly students from all over Malaysia who take school trips to the town, roughly three hours away from the capital, to learn more about the 200 species and 1,300 animals it hosts.
The zoo opens at 8.30 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. It reopens as a night safari from 8 to 11 p.m. On holidays and Saturdays, opening hours extend up to midnight.
Visitors can go to the park during the day then come back in the evening to see how the animals, a sizable number of which are nocturnal, change under the veil of darkness.
At night, they remain in their enclosures, so visitors can safely navigate around the property. It gets a little disconcerting when you know that vicious animals such as crocodiles, hippopotamuses and panthers -- not to mention snakes -- lurk somewhere in the area, and the only sources of light are the soft glow of bulbs that are installed in certain enclosures to mimic moonlight.
But, Dina, a zoo ranger and our guide for the trip, says there has not been, to her knowledge, any untoward incident at the zoo involving guests.

Malayan tigers frolic in the water

Operating mainly through revenues generated by ticket sales, the nature park nevertheless avoids money-generating gimmicks like animal shows. But if they are lucky, visitors may see the beasts being given food during feeding time. Guests can go around on foot, or by taking the trams that the zoo provides for both day- and night-time operations.
Meeting guests immediately after they pass the turnstile are some of the smallest and rarest monkeys in the world. Among the residents are the endangered golden-handed tamarin, the saddleback tamarin, and the pygmy marmoset, said to be the smallest monkey in the world. The slow loris, which moves at the same pace as someone suffering from arthritis, is also housed in the complex.
Their bigger counterparts, the old world monkeys, are housed in a different section of the zoo, where they have enough space to swing around.
"The difference between the old world monkeys such as the chimpanzees and the orangutans, and the new world monkeys, besides their size, is their tails. Old world monkeys do not use their tails for swinging or holding things," Dina says.
Primate lovers would have to come during daytime because at night, the apes sleep.
Fans of otters will delight in the park’s naturally adorable residents. They are bubbly, with bright eyes that follow visitors’ movements even as they also move around in their glass enclosures to ask for food. And they seem to be awake both during the day and at night.

Scarlet ibis and flamingo share an enclosure

Cat lovers, meanwhile, have a lot to see with the zoo’s sizable collection of felines, which range from the small cats to their great kin. In the park are several civet species, the medium-sized Asiatic Golden cat, panthers, lions and tigers.
Dina reveals that the zoo has successfully bred Malayan tigers, which are on the endangered species list. On its web site, the San Diego Zoo also mentions Zoo Taiping & Night Safari as one of the conservation centers for Malayan tigers.
The zoo has also successfully bred elephants, monkeys, deer and night herons. When other zoological parks in the world need any of the creatures that Taiping has too many of, an animal swap usually happens, Dina says.
The park boasts a good mix of endemic and exotic fauna. Besides the Malayan tiger, the endemic animals include the Asian elephant, Malayan sun bear, wild boar, bearded pig, tapir, and gaur, which is Perak’s state symbol.
Among the exotic species are the arapaima, the world’s biggest scaled freshwater fish, which are endemic to the Amazon river basin. The vicious fish, which look like overgrown arowana, eat smaller animals. They can grow up to 11 feet, are considered to be living fossils for not having changed over the past 13 million years, and are on the endangered species list due to overfishing and loss of habitat.
Also in the zoo are the scarlet ibis -- bright red wading birds which are also endemic to South America. Wallabies, cassowary and ostriches from Australia, as well as deer, zebras and giraffes from Africa are also residents.

Wild boars take a nap during the day

The center tries to provide an environment that takes the animals’ welfare into account. Flash photography, for instance, is not allowed. While this would make taking pictures at night difficult, it also reduces the stress the animals are subjected to.
Young males are also separated from the alpha male when they become a threat, in apparent deference to the laws of the jungle. And in the case of lions, Dina says they take turns in taking the viewing platform.
"We try to keep the setting as close as possible to the animals’ natural habitat," Dina says, noting that the park tries to operate as an open-concept zoo.
Just how close an approximation to the animals’ natural habitat is it? Enough for them to keep their instincts, it seems.
"A baby monkey fell from the tree above the arapaima pond," Dina recounts. "It was eaten by the fish."

---

Zoo Taiping charges an entrance fee of RM12 per person while the Night Safari charges RM16 per person. Taiping can be reached by bus, train or car. Visitors who drop off the bus or railway station can take a taxicab to the animal park.

25: Looking Back, Moving Forward (book)

For its silver anniversary, BusinessWorld came out with a coffeetable book called 25: Looking Back, Moving Forward.

I was asked to write one of the chapters of the book -- on the Philippine power sector. Running for 10 pages, the chapter discusses how the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the law passed in 2001 to rectify the problems in the power sector, has or has not been able to meet its mandate.

The book also tackles other sectors and the issues they grapple with. Philippine telecommunications, agriculture, and the stock exchange are just some of the important industries discussed extensively in the book.

25: Looking Back, Moving Forward was launched on July 28, 2012, and will soon be sold to the public.

For inquiries, call +632-5359901

'Brunei must diversify economy to avoid Dutch Disease' (The Brunei Times)

This originally appeared on the May 2, 2012 issue of The Brunei Times. Click here for the original article

'Brunei must diversify economy to avoid Dutch Disease'

A file photo of an oil drilling platform off the coast of Brunei. 'Petro-states' like Brunei need to decrease heavy dependence on oil and gas, which could be earmarked for other investments instead, said the World Economic Forum in a paper titled 'New Energy Architecture: Enabling an effective transition'. Picture: Courtesy of Shell

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

PETRO-STATES like Brunei have to look at ways of diversifying their economies, a study conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) states.
In the paper "New Energy Architecture: Enabling an effective transition", which was released last month, the WEF said that countries that capitalise on their hydrocarbon resource base depend on oil and gas exports heavily to boost their economies.
This in turn puts a heavy toll on the environment and the economies, it added.
Brunei, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Kazakhstan, among others, are categorised by the WEF study as "capitalise" countries, or those with large hydrocarbon reserves and have the energy infrastructure to focus on sustainable ways of harnessing them. Referred to as petro-states, countries under the archetype typically export oil and gas.
"Key opportunities for these countries involve diversification of economies and leveraging experience to enable expansion across the energy value chain," the study states.
It adds that "options with regard to maximising energy sector returns are not necessarily sustainable", and that they must be "carefully considered and executed to ensure co-benefits across government, society and environment".
It notes that these countries often rely on oil and gas exports to generate economic growth and maintain social stability, often taking a heavy toll on their environment and resulting in large fuel subsidies.
These countries, the study states, run the risk of a range of economic problems, including Dutch Disease, where oil exports push up prices and harm other industries.
Heavy focus on oil and gas could also divert capital earmarked for other investments, the study notes, adding that "reform fatigue", where structural economic problems are not tackled due to potential future wealth, may also affect these countries.
"The common challenge for these countries is to ensure that the opportunities for longer term economic development are not lost to economic distortion and ensuring political and social pathologies," the study states.
The WEF study covered 124 countries, which were categorised into four archetypes. Aside from the "capitalise" countries, the other archetypes are: "rationalise" countries, or mature economies, mostly members of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, that focus on reorganising their energy architecture to balance the needs of the environment, government and society; "grow" countries, such as China, which are focused on securing energy supply in light of rapid economic growth; and "access" countries, like Cambodia and Bangladesh, which struggle with providing its people with basic energy needs at affordable prices.
The study categorised the countries based on their economic growth and development, including energy intensity or the amount of energy they use to produce a unit of gross domestic product, the cost of energy imports, and a combination of GDP and human development index, among others; environmental sustainability; and energy access.
The study aims to present trends that are common to groups of countries with similar needs and objectives, to enable policy-makers to understand the broader consequences of their actions and the trade-offs they entail. It also presents ways for countries to effectively transition into a "new world energy architecture" according to their archetypes, given the radical shift in the way the world sources, transforms and consumes energy.
Data from the study show that the world will need US$38 trillion worth of investments in energy supply infrastructure between 2011 and 2035.
It also points out that global cost of fossil fuel consumption subsidies will reach US$660 billion in 2020 if reforms are not instituted, from US$409 billion in 2010.
World energy consumption, meanwhile, is expected to grow by 40 per cent between 2009 and 2035. -- Jennee Grace U Rubrico
The Brunei Times

Challenges seen in TPP pact (The Brunei Times)

This was published in the April 21, 2012 issue of The Brunei Times. Click here for the original story

Challenges seen in TPP pact

Jennee Grace U Rubrico
and Debbie Too
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Saturday, April 21, 2012

NEGOTIATIONS under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement are rife with challenges and prospects of meeting its objectives are dim, a working paper from the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies states.
The paper, written by Deborah Elms, head of the Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade and Negotiations (TFCTN), highlights difficulties faced by the TPP in meeting its objective of "open market with no exceptions".
The paper, titled 'Getting from Here to There: Stitching Together Goods Agreements in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement', was released for comments on April 17.
Originally composed of Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore, the TPP also includes the US, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Canada, Japan and Mexico have also indicated their willingness to join the economic grouping.
"The agreement is not finished, so there is still the possibility of a breakthrough in the talks. However, after two years of negotiations in goods, the prospect for an agreement that matches the rhetoric of no exceptions does not look bright," Elms says in the paper.
She points out that the countries under the TPP already have existing multilateral and bilateral agreements, wherein issues on goods trade have already been discussed.
"These deals are the result of carefully crafted compromises at the time of negotiation in each agreement. Any decision on how to negotiate in the TPP would run the risk of upsetting the existing PTA preferences," she notes.
She also highlights challenges in drafting tariff schedules for goods that would be included in the agreement by member countries.
She says TPP members have three options: to have a single schedule that would apply to all countries; to have each country prepare its own market access schedule following negotiations with others; or to combine the two options and have a uniform schedule for tariff reductions for non-sensitive products and separate schedules for sensitive ones.
But she also says: "There are nearly 6,000 tariff lines corresponding to trade in goods. For the nine countries in TPP (except for Singapore which has tariffs at zero on all products except for six lines) the starting point varies tremendously."
She also points out difficulties in opening the markets in new non-agricultural areas. Apparel, for instance, is a sensitive issue between the US and Vietnam, with Hanoi currently facing "a bewildering array of tariffs and exports" to Washington for textile, apparel and footwear exporters.
"Tariff levels of rubber footwear were as high as 37.5 per cent in May 2011," she notes.
"Vietnamese officials would like to see these complicated tariffs reduced. Up until now, most of these textile, apparel and footwear tariffs have not been addressed in American PTA negotiations."
As for market access for agricultural products, Elms notes that negotiations on "extremely sensitive items" under other trade agreements have resulted in the exclusion of certain highly sensitive items as well as the reduction, but not the elimination, of their tariffs.
She also states that other restrictive methods employed by countries were to allow high tariff peaks to remain, or subject these products to extremely long phase-in periods. In addition, countries can use a range of quantitative restrictions that are not generally allowed in other products.
"A high-quality, 21st century TPP with no exceptions should, as far as possible, avoid all these elements," she says.
The paper also raises issues on goods' rules of origin which must distinguish whether they are from TPP member countries.
"The rules must also be capable of distinguishing goods that are not from members to ensure that these non-originating goods are not eligible for the benefits of the agreement.
If these rules of origin were not put into place, any firm from any country could take advantage of any PTA," she states.
The Brunei Times

Exotic Menagerie (BusinessWorld)

Published in the April 20, 2012 issue of BusinessWorld. Click here for original post

TEXT and PHOTOS BY JENNEE GRACE U. RUBRICO

Malaysia National Zoo: Exotic menagerie

  
There are no proboscis monkeys in the Malaysia National Zoo.

Sights At The Zoo: Storks walk around
the roads at the Malaysia National Zoo

The irony of not being able to see the primate with the bulbous nose that is the symbol of the island of Borneo hung in the air and somewhat deflated the enthusiasm we had been feeling on the way to the place.
The Zoo Negara, as it is called, is in Ulu Klang, around 45 minutes away from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur by car, and we had gone there mainly to see the shy, comical-looking, light-haired monkey.
Although somewhat put off when we were told that the apes didn’t take up residence in the menagerie, we decided to go in just the same, so as not to waste our trip.
We were glad we did.
The zoo, which covers 110 acres of land, hosts 4,000 other animals, many of them endemic to the land. It is managed by the Malaysian Zoological Society, a nongovernment organization that aims to “conserve, teach and research” wildlife “while providing recreation for local and foreign tourists.”

Sights At The Zoo: Zoo Negara’s resident puma
 is among the mid-sized cats found in the menagerie

By no means a big menagerie, Zoo Negara’s exotic fauna nevertheless surprises and inspires awe.
Perhaps its most remarkable residents are the tapir, the shy, stubby-legged, long-snouted, two-toned massive mammals that are endemic to Malaysia and other countries in southeast Asia. The endangered creatures, with their black and white stripes and gentle if heavyset demeanor, looked adorable in their enclosure while they took a nap under the afternoon sun.
If the tapir are the most remarkable species in the zoo, the Malayan tigers, whose roar could be heard before they could be seen, have to be the most majestic. It is no wonder that the animal, called harimau in Malay, is Malaysia’s national icon. Everything about the tigers, from their roar to the rippling of their muscles as they walk around their enclosure, oozes power and beauty.
Completing the great cats section of the zoo are the lions, the panthers and their spotted siblings, the leopards, who were not to be outdone when it came to beauty. Like the Malayan tigers, the leopards, endemic to Asia and Africa, are also in critical danger of being wiped out as poachers hunt them for their coat and farmers drive them out of their habitat.
Malayan sunbears, which are classified as vulnerable because of the destruction of their natural habitat, are also residents of the zoo. The black, droopy-eyed bears, the smallest of their kind, walk around an electric enclosure that houses a cave, tire swings and a pool. Perhaps because they only eat insects, small animals and honey, the honey bears, as they are also called, do not appear menacing. If anything, they look cute, especially the one who was paddling in the pool it appeared to have outgrown.

Sights At The Zoo: penguins have found their
 way to tropical Malaysia.

And then there’s the musang, the civet, which is known the world over for being responsible for crapping out the world’s most expensive coffee. Zoo Negara hosts a number of these endemic animals, including the Artictis binturong, the tree-dwelling civet which is the largest of its kind. The species is also in the vulnerable animals list because of its loss of habitat.
Housed along with the civets are mid-sized and small cats that will impress any cat lover. Included in this section are leopard cats, which, true to their name, look like a miniature leopard; a puma, which is on the endangered species list; and, for some reason, raccoons.
A surprise find at the Zoo Negara are penguins, which are penned in air-conditioned aquariums. The flightless birds do not fail to elicit surprised reactions from visitors, presumably because the cold-loving birds are not a common sight in tropical countries.
The zoo’s savannah provides a refreshing contrast to the usual enclosed aviaries. At Zoo Negara, storks cross the road without a care about the tram that waits for them to pass. Flamingos provide color to the lake, swans glide on the water in full view of passersby, and egrets fly unimpeded from perch to perch.
Many of the other animals enjoy various degrees of freedom in their pens. The management takes pride in having an “open concept zoo,” claiming that over 90% of the animals are kept in spacious exhibits.

Sights At The Zoo: Malayan sunbears ar
e housed in an enclosure that includes a cave,
a pool and tire swings.

“We are working in making sure that the old zoo concept is changed entirely,” the management says in the Zoo Negara web site.
Apart from the exotic, the menagerie also hosts conventional zoo animals like elephants, giraffes, buffalo, hippopotamuses, snakes and other reptiles. Among the more notable animals are the barking deer, whose bark can be quite disturbing if one didn’t know what it was. The ape center, which houses the great primates, appeared deserted when we visited because we got there at around their feeding time.
The zoo also has a section for insects, which requires a separate entrance fee. It is worth mentioning mostly because it houses live tarantulas.
Like many other zoos, Zoo Negara has animal shows scheduled at different times throughout the day. Watching one would mean seeing a sea lion performing the usual tricks, a civet walking at a leisurely pace on a bamboo pole, and birds suddenly appearing in front of the pool.
For those in the mood to have their pictures taken with a bird perched on their arm, the show provides a chance for this. All one needs to do is hold up a ringgit note, and the bird will swoop down, pick up the note with its beak, and pose on the benefactor’s arm for the photo before flying back to its handler to deposit the money.

Sights At The Zoo: A tram can take passengers
 around the zoo

The zoo is small enough to explore on foot, and vending machines and kiosks are scattered around the place for easy access to beverages and snacks. But those who may find the Malayan sun too harsh for rambling can take the tram. For 6 ringgit (roughly P90) per person, the tram transports passengers from the entrance to the middle of the zoo, where they can explore the different sections of the menagerie on foot. When they’re done, they can go back to the drop-off point and wait for the tram, which brings them back to the entrance.
There are no proboscis monkeys in Zoo Negara, but there are 4,000 other animals that are just as interesting, and just as vulnerable to human abuses.
As one leaves the zoo, one may feel a mixture of awe at just how much beauty and diversity there is in the planet, pity for the enclosed beasts, and sadness at the thought that these beautiful creatures are in danger of never being seen again.
But if these mixed emotions lead one to become more environmentally conscious, the zoo will have accomplished its primary goal.
Zoo Negara is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It charges an entrance fee of 30 to 35 ringgit per person, depending on the package one avails of. More information is available at its Web site, http://www.zoonegaramalaysia.my.

Kellie's Castle (AIMLeader Magazine)

Written for AIMLeader Magazine. Click here for original post

Kellie’s Castle
Words and photos by Jennee Grace Rubrico

In the outskirts of Perak’s capital city of Ipoh stands a stately remnant of Malaysia’s colonial past.  Built on a hill and cut off on one side by a moat, the ruins of Kellie’s Castle, an unfinished mansion in Batu Gajah which was built by a wealthy Scotsman a century ago, bears silent witness to the passage of time.
The castle seems impenetrable to passersby. Red brick walls seem to protect secrets, and pillared windows with dome-shaped arches are eyes that watch intently.
The verdant grounds provide a warmth that offsets the somber ambience of the house, and the river that passes in front of the property is serene.
But even they reveal nothing.
It was a hot Saturday afternoon in May when we visited the castle, and the tourists—most of whom were foreigners – who flocked to the place that day attested to its draw.
How Kellie’s Castle came to be built is well-documented.  A 20-year-old Scotsman, William Kellie Smith, had gone to what was then Malaya to seek his fortune in the 1890s. In 1909, Smith bought a 960-acre jungle in the Kinta district, which he turned into a rubber plantation. It was on one section of that land that he built his first home, where he lived with his English wife Agnes and daughter Helen. Five years later, when his son Anthony was born, Smith embarked on an ambitious plan to build a castle that would be connected to the old house.  The castle ‑ which was to be built using marble from Italy, among other imported materials ‑ was to be remarkable in many ways, but in one most of all: it was to contain the first elevator in Malaya. 
With 70 Indians under his employ, Smith started construction of the manor. It was set to be completed in 10 years, but a plague and other misfortunes kept delaying the work. When Smith was 59 years old, he went to Lisbon to fetch the elevator for his house.  He never made it back, and the house was never completed.
After his death, Agnes sold all of their holdings in Malaya. Smith’s family never returned to the house that a century later remains standing and incomplete, waiting for its master.
Why the house was built is a mystery. Aqfast Enterprises, the company that now manages the property, conjectures that Smith intended for it to either be a gift to his wife, or a place to entertain wealthy guests.
The design of the castle, apart from the plan to install the country’s first elevator in the house, would support the theory that it was made to impress. The building follows colonial architecture, with dashes of Moorish influence.  It is connected to the old house—also designed with dome-shaped windows —by the servants’ quarters. Between the two houses is a courtyard that’s big enough to hold an intimate party on a moonlit evening.
By the side entrance of the building is a staircase that leads to a cellar that could house a sizable wine collection.  The property manager has also identified a room above the cellar that was to contain a bar.
The castle’s high ceilings seem to have been designed to hold chandeliers.  The rooftop, meanwhile, is big enough to hold a tennis court and a party deck.
Some of the guest rooms have the best views, being located on the higher floors. They are also most conveniently situated, as they stand next to the elevator shaft.
Many of the rooms are bare. On the walls of some, though, are Greco-Roman finishings that give an indication of how they would have looked had they been completed.  One can easily imagine works of art hanging on the solid walls, and windows, which must have looked out to the gardens or the rubber plantation, draped with colorful curtains or covered with screens that would nonetheless let the breeze in. The huge spaces allotted for bathrooms, meanwhile, obviously meant that they were to be luxurious nooks.
The property is so picturesque that it became one of the filming locations for the Jodie Foster-Chow Yun Fat movie, Anna and the King.
Yet, the romantic aura that the palace invokes does not resonate with the Smiths’ seeming concern about their safety.  The family members’ bedrooms, located on the second floor, are connected to each other by secret passages that go through bathrooms. Each room also has a separate secret passage that leads to a hiding place.  One of them leads to a dungeon directly below the room.  
What were the Smiths afraid of?
Ghosts are said to haunt Kellie’s Castle. Among the reported sightings is of a girl who has been seen in the room that was to be Helen’s.  Whether the ghost stories are true or not, though, Kellie’s Castle does haunt its visitors.
“Every time I come here, I think about how great the house could have been had it been completed. I think about how grand the rooms would have been, and what kind of visitors would have visited the house,” Waran, a native of Ipoh and a family friend, said as we toured the place.
“If it had been completed, it wouldn’t be such a mystery. But because it wasn’t, it leaves visitors with a lot of questions.”
Questions, such as: What would it have looked like? Why couldn’t it be completed? Why did Smith’s family abandon the house that he had tried so hard to erect? And, why did Smith build the second house?
Kellie’s Castle leaves a psychological mark that cannot be removed. It stands in silence to perpetuate the story of William Kellie Smith, unperturbed, as questions that burn in many a visitor’s mind long after leaving remain unanswered.