DAP’s Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham has demanded that the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development answers for nearly RM500 million in alleged irregularities, failing which the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should investigate.

NONE The gargantuan amount could have been saved had the ministry followed the practice, among others, of awarding contracts to the lowest qualified tenders, Ngeh said in a statement.

He noted that two projects awarded through direct negotiations were the Sarawak Rural Water Supply recticulation system worth RM83 million and the Sarawak Special Rural Water Supply 2011/2012 project worth RM555 million.

Ngeh, who is also Perak DAP chief, said he has received complaints that while a number of companies submitted quotations for certain projects under the limited tender category, in some cases it was the same person submitting the tenders under various names.

“I stayed up till 10.30pm in Parliament on Monday to debate and to wait for the answer from the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development on the issues I had raised.

“I was greatly disappointed when the deputy minister of the ministry refused to answer my questions,” Ngeh said.

He explained that the ministry is awarding 209 projects for the year 2011, but only 129 have been announced so far.

Of the 129, Ngeh gave a list ( below ) of 68 projects that were awarded through limited tenders.

'I have asked what happened to the other 80 projects. (But) the deputy (minister) has refused to reply," said Ngeh.

"Although open tenders were conducted for the 68 projects as listed in the schedule hereto, all were not given to the lowest priced bidder except for one.

"Many of them were awarded at many times more than the lowest price tendered," he added.

According to Ngeh, the government lost RM403.8 million for its failure to award the projects to the lowest qualifying bidders.

Awarding the lowest qualifying bidders would have saved the government money and would have been fair to those who had made the effort to submit the tenders.

After taking into consideration the losses suffered by the practice of awarding through direct negotiation and limited tender projects, Ngeh said he estimates that rakyat lost at least RM500 million.

"I call on the government to award the balance projects that have yet to be given out to be done in accordance to the abovesaid accepted proper procedure of open tender system.

Unless a satisfactory answer is forthcoming from the minister concerned, the MACC should immediately conduct an investigation into the awarding of the projects, said Ngeh.

Related stories

Nazri: No 'concrete' evidence of Saiful-DPP romance

'Missing' funds: 'Awang Adek's answer confusing'

PAC summons education, finance ministries' officials

Time for 'tokenism' long over, says Nor Mohamed

Idris Jala now says M'sia won't go bankrupt

Minister faces pay cut over Lynas project

Muhyiddin: UUCA could be amended if students ready

 

azlan