The plight of 24 sub-contractors left high and dry payment-wise after completing jobs at Universiti Teknologi Petronas will be looked into by Petronas Chief Executive Officer Ishak Imam Abas, Batu Gajah MP Fong Poh Kuan said today.

At a meeting held at the Petronas world headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today, Fong and two representatives of the sub-contractors met Ishak who requested for documents. Fong said she would compile them for him by next week.

"Ishak said he will study the relevant documents and claims by the sub-contractors and decide if there is a need for intervention," she said.

The sub-contractors had chartered a bus from Ipoh to the Petronas Twin Towers in hope that Ishak would meet them and listen to their woes.

They are from several parts of central Perak and have done various jobs besides providing machinery for the university project.

All the 24 sub-contractors claim they have completed their jobs but have yet to receive any form of payment from the company which commissioned them - Hasrat Kurnia Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Sanjung Sempurna Sdn Bhd. The latter is among the two main contractors hired by Petronas for the university construction project.

Hasrat Kurnia is said to owe the affected contractors an estimated total of RM470,000. Some of the sub-contractors have been trying up to 17 months to obtain their payment, but were ignored.

The group also showed reporters several cheques from Hasrat Kurnia which could not be cashed as according to bank authorities the company's account was empty.

Fong showed reporters company data obtained from the Companies Commission, which revealed that Hasrat Kurnia was a RM2 company, rendering legal action pointless.

Social obligation

Admitting that the Petronas had no contractual obligation towards the contractors, Fong said that the oil conglomerate was nevertheless a government-linked company and should award its contracts wisely.

She said it was the responsibility of Petronas to pay its contractors and monitor their projects, adding that when its sub-contractors were not paid, the public would blame the government.

"As the CEO, Ishak should protect the image of the government and resolve this matter. No one else can assist them (the sub-contractors)," said Fong.

"Petronas should be thanking this group as they are the ones who worked on their project. Now these people are not being paid, and they have families to feed," said Fong.

Kuching MP Chong Chien Jen, who was present, said the government was changing its approach towards sub-contractors including paying them directly.

"Petronas should do likewise instead of hiding behind technicalities (that there is no contractual obligation). There is a social obligation to ensure that these sub-contractors are paid," he said.

Also present at the meeting with Ishak were two other DAP leaders, Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran and Pasir Pinji state assemblyperson Thomas Su.