Granting the Ampang Line LRT extension project tender to George Kent, which is said to have failed competency tests, has not tarnished the nation's image, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Abdul Razak told Parliament today.

Najib said this in a written reply to Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor), who asked whether the RM960 billion tender marred by allegations and controversies has tarnished Malaysia's image in the eyes of foreign investors.

Najib said the bidding decision that favoured George Kent-Lion Pacific Joint Venture was accepted by all other international bidders.

"International bidders who took part indeed accepted the decision made as the evaluation was done comprehensively, not only from technical and commercial aspects as usually done in most countries in the world.

"To date, there is no bidder that expressed any dissatisfaction with the Finance Ministry or Prasarana on the awarding of the tender, and this can be viewed as an evidence that the nation's image remains intact as in the past,'' Najib replied.

azlan The George Kent joint venture is said to have scored 38.62 out of 70 on its technical evaluation and PKR's strategy director Rafizi Ramli accused it of being incapable of carrying out the project. He backed his claim with a report by engineering consultancy Halcrow.

In an earlier response on the tender, Najib explained that the tender also took into consideration the need to develop local companies and vendors in high technology industries by involving them directly in projects such as the Ampang LRT Line extension.

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