The elections are over, the prime minister and the cabinet ministers are appointed and the economy is slipping rapidly into recession. Sir, it is time to work. The people of Malaysia are waiting for the prime minister to move in concrete terms to reverse the downtrend of the economy. Sorry, sir, no 100 days honeymoon period.

As a construction man, I am impressed by the allocation in the budget for it. Construction activities are an effective way of stimulating the economy, particularly the local communities in the areas where they are at.

Even a small project will spawn a myriad variety of economic activities in a ‘kampung' or small town. There will always be a ‘warong' to cater for the workers while restaurants and hardware stores will be busy and houses and shoplots will be rented out for accommodation and offices.

The total number of construction projects to be awarded is just staggering and we come to the perennial question of transparency in the government's procurement process. The process in itself is thorough and as good as any you can find. The weakness is always in the implementation.

How can we ensure that projects are awarded at the right price and to contractors who will deliver the works on time and within the budget allocated? In this country, our record is not that great and at the sound of the word ‘contracts', there will be smirks all round and the ‘you-know-I know' looks.

The solution is perhaps to stick to the basics. The award of a contract must be given to the contractor who complies with all tender requirements. This means that the contractor must meet and possess the financial and professional expertise required for the work.

Then the price must be a workable price, not the lowest, because if the contractor cannot profit he will abandon the work or create ways to invent issues that involve money to be borne by the government.

Perhaps the most important criterion is to ensure that all loopholes for variation orders or claims for additional money are tightened to weed out contractors with a dubious background and history of non-professionalism; time and again churning controversies.

As a nation, we have not been very successful on this score. But in the light of the financial and economic deluge before, it is time to work and to do it right.

Lastly, sir, you now have a new set of new brooms in your cabinet and they need to be shown the way towards transparency and accountability. RM67 billion in both the stimuli packages is indeed a lot of money to expend but if you are of the opinion that this is the required sum to rejuvenate ourselves, then let's ride with the tide.