Costly mistakes such as the Navy Recruit Training Centre (Pularek) can be avoided in future if the government comes out with clear and transparent criteria to simplify the process in the award of contracts.

This will ensure the award process becomes a simple, straightforward and technical affair, said Transparency International, Malaysia Chapter president Tunku Abdul Aziz.

He urged the government to put into place internationally accepted procurement standards and guidelines for the award of contracts to show greater transparency and accountability.

Tunku Aziz was responding to a report in the The Star yesterday quoting Works Minister Samy Vellu as saying in Kota Tinggi on Monday that the government will no longer award projects to contractors who merely offer the lowest bid, but instead to companies with "excellent track records".

The minister said the RM195 million Pularek could not be used because of major defects in the buildings, requiring remedial works costing some RM3 million.

The centre was built to replace the naval base in Woodlands, Singapore, which was returned to the Singapore government after the lease expired in 1998.

It was designed to become a showcase for academic and professional training as well as the Navy's base for the south region. The workmanship problems at the centre surfaced in January last year following complaints that there were about 13,000 cracks in the buildings.

"With the minister's latest disclosure, it can be assumed that the Pularek project was awarded to the lowest bidder, and that in his view is the source of the problem," Tunku Aziz said in a statement to malaysiakini .

However, he felt that any project, public or private, which involves state funds, is of interest to the public - taxpayers have the right to know why they now have to spend another RM3 million on repair works at Pularek.

He added that certain questions need to be asked: "Who should bear this responsibility - the minister or contractors? Were there no regular inspections during construction? How were progress payments made and justified?"

The Pularek project, consisting a collection of buildings in a 74.5ha area, was developed in five packages by Konsortium Pengelih Bukit, H & I Niaga, Ekovest, Marimas and Seri Yakin.

Tunku Aziz said that the government should spell out the laws, procedures, judicial decisions and administrative ruling regarding awards of contracts, timely notification of bidding opportunities, qualification requirements, transparent qualification and contract award decisions, and independent forums for review.

He also noted that there are at present no clear and transparent guidelines for the award of privatised projects, let alone the "lowest bid" as a criterion.

"In fact, the cases of privatisation reveal the opposite to be true, with many projects - the North-South Highway being an obvious one - awarded to non-competitive bids," he said.