Sarawakians are not benefitting much from the construction of the RM5 billion new liquefied natural gas plant in Bintulu, claims DAP assembly representative for Bintulu, Chiew Chin Sing.

Debating the State Supply (2002) Bill 2001 in the state legislative assembly last Thursday, Chiew, who is also DAP Sarawak deputy chairperson, said: "Most of our local contractors and people are either sub-contractors or labourers."

He claimed that the main contracts for the plant, from civil to mechanical, electrical and instruments, were pre-arranged even before the start of the project and awarded to "politically-connected companies from peninsular Malaysia".

These companies in turned sub-contracted the work to others "and by the time it reaches the local sub-contractor it would have already gone through a third or fourth hand".

"By then, imagine the price of the contract works," Chiew said, adding that the locals would have no choice but to accept the low price or there will be no work at all.

"One sub-contractor complained to me angrily that most of our local sub-contractors for the MNLG3 project are losing money because the price was just too low," he said.

Chiew is the sole DAP representative in the 62-member state assembly dominated by Barisan Nasional. Independent Wong Judat (Meluan) is the only other non-BN representative.

Chiew added: "Most of the local sub-contractors for the project are being owed money by the upper-tier contractors, some for as long as three or more months.

"This means that being the sub-contractor you are in actual fact financing the upper-tier contractors, giving them a three- to six-month loan free of interest. And who knows by the end of the project when all is done and the upper-tier contractors leave, they may also leave behind millions of ringgit of outstanding debts to be paid to the local contractors as had happened from time to time in similar projects before."

Bad business practice

The DAP assembly representative said the system of multi-tier contracts in a project like MLNG3 is not good business practice "because people who are actually doing the jobs are not making the money while those above them who got the political connection got very rich in a short time without doing much".

He called on the state government to intervene to ensure a minimum return to local sub-contractors so that their workers are rightly rewarded and paid promptly.

"Contract opportunities for projects like MLNG3 should be advertised in the local papers first before getting any main contractors from peninsular Malaysia."

Chiew said the MNLG3 project is the third such project in Bintulu where there are other similar big petrochemical plant projects.

Bintulu and other Sarawakian contractors had gone through many similar projects like this "and I cannot see why the local contractors are not awarded the main contracts" as they also had the experience and capability, said Chiew.

About 4,000 workers, mostly foreign, are employed in the construction work for MNLG3.

"These foreign workers, in terms of skills, are almost the same as our local workers. So why are they paid more than our local labourers?" Chiew questioned.

TONY THIEN is a malaysiakini correspondent based in Kuching, Sarawak.