How could the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) 'mistakenly' allocate RM795 million to Perak for its portion of the scrapped double track rail project?

If such mistakes can occur, DAP leader Lim Kit Siang wondered what other errors have been made in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) allocations.

He was commenting on a news report on Sunday which revealed that Perak benefited from the allocation, originally meant as part of the RM4.6 billion electrified rail project between Rawang in Selangor and Ipoh.

The government had cancelled the contract awarded to DRB-Hicom in July 2000 for the 180-km rail track project in May 2005.

The balance of work under the contract would be given to another group, it said, without naming the contractor.

"Maybe they (EPU) have made a mistake," Perak Menteri Besar Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali told a gathering at Batu Kurau over the weekend.

Tajol said he proposed to use part of the allocation for a new interchange at Alor Pongsu along the North-South Expressway.

Be transparent

According to Lim, the 'mistake' did not reflect well on the quality of the EPU "in terms of its five-year planning."

This does not mean that Perak is not in need of such an allocation, he said. "I'm sure there must have been a macro-consideration of allocation of funds."

The opposition leader urged the state and federal authorities to ensure such allocations be done in a transparent manner.

"It (the allocation) should be properly used for the development of Perak over the next five years. It should not be decided unilaterally by the MB (Tajol) but according to the proper process and in the best interests of the state.

"It should be part of a proper participation process as in Parliament and the state assembly," he added.

When contacted, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Shahrir Abdul Samad said the allocation was meant for a particular project in the state and was not necessarily a state prerogative.

"You cannot claim that the project is for you and therefore it must be spent ... It's not an allocation for the state, it's an allocation for the rail project," he said.

"It is not an allocation made to the state, it is an allocation made for a project within the state. These are two different things. The allocation is for the Ministry of Transport. So the ministry would be the one saying 'we won't be doing this in Perak, we'll be doing it somewhere else. You cannot claim that the project is for you and therefore it must be spent," he added.

However, Shahrir said Tajol can still try to persuade that a similar amount be spent for some other project in the state.