Premier Najib Abdul Razak’s haste in awarding multi-billion ringgit privatisation projects in the final laps of his tenure are signs that the BN genuinely fears that its heading for a fall in coming polls, the DAP claimed today.

NONE Outlining this scenario, DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua (left) said today the rate at which these privatisation contracts are being awarded point to two things;

First, the urgency in awarding the jobs before the general election clearly shows a real likelihood that BN will lose its power;

Next the dishing out of the contracts shows that the BN is also desperately raising funds from its cronies to fight for its "life-and-death" mother-of-all-elections to ensure its survival.

Pua, who is Petaling Jaya Utara MP, said the PM Department's decision to award a new RM1.55 billion tender to build the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) to Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd (AZRB) on Wednesday, via direct negotiations, is one example.

It was reported in various newspapers today that Ahmad Zaki Resources had been confirmed as the developer of the EKVE as announced in a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday.

The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary EKVE Sdn Bhd will fully undertake the design, construction, operation, management and maintenance of the highway.

However, no agreement has been signed this purpose as yet.

"The privatisation contract involves the government forking out RM635 million in soft loans to AZRB, despite the 50-year concession period being the second longest awarded in Malaysia's history.

"The obvious question is that if the government is able to fork out nearly half of the required investment to build the highway, why is there the need to privatise it in the first place?

"Is it so that certain companies can bleed the rakyat for multi-billion ringgit profits in the future?" he asked.

Some of the other projects

Four weeks ago, Pua added, the RM5.2 billion West Coast Expressway was finalised and the job given to Kumpulan Europlus, which will hold the highway for 60 years, despite the government providing a soft loan of RM2.24 billion as well as bearing the land acquisition cost of RM980 million.

Earlier last year, the Najib administration awarded the RM2.2 billion Kinrara-Damansara Expressway project to companies linked to Umno lawyer Hafarizam Harun and recently retired Chief Justice Zaki Azmi, who was a member of the Umno disciplinary committee.

MRT Corp, which oversees Malaysia's largest infrastructure project in history, announced in November last year that RM19.8 billion of contract works have been awarded, with 45 percent or RM8.82 billion of this going to "bumiputera" companies.

NONE In August 2012, Najib also awarded the controversial RM1.2 billion Ampang LRT Extension contract, to water meter manufacturer George Kent Bhd, despite its total lack of  experience in the rail industry.

"The local company with known links to the PM beat other experienced global players, including Balfour Beatty, which submitted its tender at a significantly lower price.

"A month later, another RM1.33 billion contract was awarded to MRCB for other works on the same LRT line," Pua said.

These examples, he said, were just a shortlist of billions of ringgit worth of contracts and privatisation agreements signed by the government in the last 12 months alone.

"The possibility of a Pakatan federal government is very real, but we will have to first overcome the dirtiest of all elections as the BN will spare no expense to 'buy' victory in the polls with the massive war chest it would have raised," Pua added.

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