Transparency International-Malaysia president Paul Low questioned whether the controversial Shah Alam Hospital project was awarded in a fair and open tender.

He said that for the watchdog, the concern is whether the tender process for the hospital was awarded in an open tender.

pkfz port klang ong tee keat lee hwa beng paul low seng kuan pc 100609 02 "Were there submissions by other contractors? Did the Public Works Department (PWD) evaluate the submitted tenders in an objective and professional manner?

"Was the awarding of the project made in keeping with best practices and in the interest of the public?" he asked.

Low ( right) , however, declined to comment on the allegations of inflated cost and if the contractor who was awarded the project was qualified had the experience to handle such a project.

"Our main concern is the process by which it was awarded," was all he offered on the query.

Malaysiakini also contacted the office of PWD secretary-general Judin Abdul Karim for a response to the allegations of inflated cost but was unable to get an answer.

Judin was the signatory to the letter awarding the Shah Alam Hospital project to Sunshine Fleet Sdn Bhd, a company with links to the Selangor royal family.

NONE Questions were raised as to how the project was awarded to a company which may have lacked experience and technical capability to handle the project.

Several point to the links to the Selangor royalty as the reason for the awarding of contract to Sunshine Fleet.

Comments have also been made about the inflated contract price of nearly half a billion ringgit from its initial cost of RM300 million.

' Millions siphoned?'

There have been claims that Sunshine Fleet has been siphoning off millions based with separate agreements with successive sub-contractors to undertake the project on its behalf.

Attempts to contact the current sub-contractor GM Healthcare Sdn Bhd and previous sub-contractor Isyoda (M) Sdn Bhd to shed light on the matter have thus far been unsuccessful.

NONE A staff member of Sunshine Fleet said employees were forbidden to comment on the project and instructed by higher ups to divert queries to PWD.

Sunshine Fleet's executive chairman and member of the Selangor royal family Tengku Putri Arafiah ibni Sultan Abd Aziz Shah is understood to be holidaying in Indonesia.

The princess, who is a sister of the Selangor sultan, is one of three key owners of Sunshine Fleet.

The other two are her son Putera Azamuddin Shah Abdul Aziz and her uncle Tengku Abdul Samad Shah ibni Sultan Salahuddin Abd Aziz Shah.