DAP parliamentarian Tony Pua vowed to push the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to probe the country's largest exhibition and convention centre worth RM628 million.

tony pua dap pc 250507 smiles The Petaling Jaya Utara MP reiterated that the building contract of Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) was allocated in a dubious manner.

"It was awarded to a novice construction company Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd in a highly opaque manner as there was no tender for the project.

"The government cannot hope to kill the issue by silence," said Pua, referring to the finance ministry's answer that they were unaware about the matter.

"The only time when we received any reply was during the committee stage debate with MITI (International Trade and Industry Ministry), when its minister Mustapa Mohamed insisted that the transaction was value for money and even told the press that the government got MECC for free," added Pua.

According to Mustapa this was the reason the government accepted a proposal from Naza TTDI to build the facility in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, on land belonging to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade).

Mustapa had also said the proposal was mooted in 2007 by Naza TTDI and since this was a profitable deal for the government, the construction company was given the nod to proceed without undergoing open tender procedures.

Besides the response from Mustapa, Pua said, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also the Finance Minister, has kept an "elegant silence" on the matter.

Land said to be worth billions

Pua said if the government was serious about its emphasis on the need for healthy competition in the financial market, its decision to continuously allow unclear direct negotiations could result in countless scandals and losses in the millions.

"The MITI minister had disclosed that the 62.5 acres of land was only worth RM197 million. However, established property consultants have valued the land to be worth between RM970 million to RM1.5 billion," revealed Pua.

"The question is why did the prime minister approve the transaction despite he himself having stated his disapproval for the direct negotiation mechanism?" asked Pua.

He also quizzed how the government was getting the convention centre "for free". "Is Naza doing national service by building a convention centre for RM628 million, in exchange for a land that only cost RM197 million?"

"We want to investigate the matter while the ' nasi ' (rice) is still cooking, not when ' nasi sudah jadi bubur ' (when it is too late)," added Pua.

Pua said he will urge PAC to probe into:

  • the feasibility study conducted by MITI
  • comparative market study against the performance of local and overseas competitors
  • the determination of RM628 million cost for the convention centre
  • the determination of RM197 million valuation for the 62.5 acres of land
  • the rationale behind the approval by the finance ministry for direct negotiations without tender
  • an audit of the proposal evaluation process by MITI and finance ministry
  • the need for the government to get into the business of operating an exhibition and convention centre
"It's important the PAC takes up this investigation as we need more preventive exercises instead of waiting for projects to become incurable such as the multi-billion ringgit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) and the double-tracking scandal," said Pua.