The Sarawak government's explanation of its rationale in awarding the contract for the new state assembly building has been described as "unsatisfactory".

Also saying that many questions remain unanswered, Sarawak DAP chairperson Wong Ho Leng said the main one was why the state government had not called an open tender for the RM296.5 million project.

"Transparency and accountability are essential hallmarks of a trustworthy government. The government has fallen short of this yardstick. The people in Sarawak have the right to know," he said.

DAP state assemblyperson Chiew Chin Sing received a written reply last week from Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu, in his capacity as Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communications.

Jabu said the tender - although not on open tender - was awarded at a fair and competitive price after a proper evaluation by professional consultants.

The project was awarded to PPES Works-Naim Cendera Consortium, which has since sub-contracted the work to KL-based construction company Bina Puri Holdings Bhd for RM228 million.

The DAP had previously claimed that this would work out to an instant profit of RM72 million for the main contractor.

However, Jabu denied that the main contractor had made a quick profit, saying the sub-contractor's fee does not cover all the components of the construction costs.

Government obligation

Chiew had raised 12 questions including why the state government was in such a rush to complete the project in 27 months, and about the cost of the usual variation orders.

Jabu said the agreed price was based on prevalent market rate which is considered fair and competitive.

"Since it was a direct award, the people are entitled to ask what justifies fairness and competitiveness of the contract price when there was no competition through open tender," Wong said in analysing the responses.

Asked about the profit margin for the consortium, Jabu said: "Due to the tight schedule and complexity of this project, the project was awarded to two very experienced Sarawak-based companies with a proven track record in the construction industry in the state to ensure that the project will be implemented as scheduled."

Wong noted that Jabu had previously admitted that the project was sub-contracted to Bina Puri Sdn Bhd.

"(He has) tacitly approved the appointment of the sub-contractor (but) the reply does not mention the experience of the sub-contractor," said Wong.

"Since 'complexity', 'experience' and 'proven track record' were the criteria for awarding the contract to two Sarawak companies, the people have the right to know why a third party was allowed to be the sub-contractor when it has not been credited with 'experience' and 'track record'.

"By agreeing to the sub-contract, is the state government admitting that Sarawak companies, even if they are very experienced and have a proven track record, are not competent enough to undertake the project?"

Wong further questioned the components of work to be covered by Bina Puri and the portions of the main contract that are not covered by the sub-contract.s

He said experience in Sarawak has shown a regular pattern of failure when too many sub-contractors or sub-sub-contractors are involved in a project.

"The government has an obligation to guard against project failure," he added.