Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang today 'reminded' Works Minister S Samy Vellu that he has less than 48 hours to explain the hefty bill tagged to the renovation works to Parliament, failing which a report would be lodged with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

Samy Vellu has until Monday to provide the breakdown of the RM99 million bill in order to "ensure that there is no corruption, abuse of power" and "that every ringgit of Parliament renovation is properly spent," said the veteran DAP leader in a statement.

Silence in the matter would be deafening, said Lim, considering Samy's estimate of RM60 million on Tuesday was later revised upwards by Public Works Department (PWD) director-general Zaini Omar to RM85 million.

As Zaini is also requesting another RM14 million from the Treasury, it brings the total cost of Parliament renovation to RM99 million, of which RM74.5 million has been spent so far, Lim added.

"It is clear that Parliament and Malaysian taxpayers are not getting the full worth of every ringgit spent for Parliament's renovation, or there would not be so many mishaps even before the full completion of the renovation project," said Lim.

His comments echoed those made by DAP national vice-chairperson and Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) deputy chairperson Dr Tan Seng Giaw, who had demanded Samy to prove that it was worth to spend more than RM80 million to renovate Parliament House.

'Washout' in Parliament

Allegations of corruption and substandard workmanship, supervision and materials have in recent years plagued the works ministry, with various quarters pointing fingers to such controversies as the Middle Ring Road II flyover in Kepong, Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Bahru and Temerloh Hospital .

It reached its 'wet summit' on April 28 when water from a leaking roof poured into the august chamber of Parliament House following heavy rain and thunderstorm.

The incident occurred when Finance Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Helmi Yahaya was winding up the debate for his ministry on the Excise (Amendment) Bill 2005.

While Speaker Ramli Ngah Talib was reported as saying that the leak in the roof did not cause much damage, Lim described the incident as "a day of shame for Parliament".