DAP has criticised Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai for avoiding a full probe of the controversial Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) by setting up a committee with limited scope.

"Instead of allowing the attorney-general (AG) to access the scandal, Liow has chosen to callously ignore the PAC’s (Public Accounts Committee) recommendation.

"He announced the setting up of a separate 'independent audit committee' and strictly limited its scope 'to conduct a detailed investigation of the sinking surfaces at the apron and runway with the aim of ensuring safety at the airport,'" said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua.

In a report tabled on Nov 26, the PAC had recommended for the KLIA2 project to be audited by the auditor-general.

Admitting that the problem of sinking surfaces was a serious concern, Pua, however, said it was not the only issue which the PAC had found to have grave misgivings about.

"It is clear that the 'independent audit committee' will not be given any room to dig into the above faults and identify the culprits behind the scandal.

 

"Is the minister of transport trying to cover up the gross mismanagement over the design, award and construction of KLIA2?

"Is Liow remotely interested in punishing those behind the decisions which have resulted in the profits of MAHB to drop by a staggering 98 percent in the latest financial quarter?" asked Pua, who is also DAP national publicity secretary, in a statement today.

The PAC had found that the main cause of the problems in KLIA2 was due to mismanagement and questionable decision-making by the Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) management.

These included the decisions to locate KLIA2 at KLIA West, a site which had been documented by engineers as costly and ill-suited for airport construction and the choice of a satellite-type terminal instead of a finger pier terminal as proposed by the airport consultants.

"These highly questionable decisions have resulted in the exceedingly high cost of the airport and the consequent delays in its completion," said Pua.

Will this be another PKFZ?

Meanwhile, Pua further queried whether the KLIA2 scandal would go the way of the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal.

"Has the minister of transport become the 'minister of cover-ups' for multi-billion ringgit project scandals without any sense of responsibility and accountability?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Perak DAP economic development bureau chief Chong Zhemin said it was questionable for the KLIA2 independent audit committee to be truly independent as it is Liow himself who would appoint MCA-owned Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman president Chuah Hean Teik to head the audit committee.

"How can Malaysians trust the KLIA2 independent audit committee to get to the bottom of the scandal when it is headed by Utar president Chuah?

"By appointing a political puppet whose independence is questionable, is Liow trying to whitewash and cover up the mismanagement and scandals in the construction of KLIA2?" he asked in a statement.

Chong said Liow would argue that he appointed Chuah on the merit that the latter is the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and Pacific (FEIAP) president but the fact that he also serves as Utar’s president cast serious doubts whether he could carry out the audit on KLIA2 independently.

"I urge Liow to immediately widen the scope of the KLIA2 independent audit committee to include probing the RM2.3 billion cost overrun and reappoint an audit committee head who is truly independent," he added.