YOURSAY | ‘If the villagers pool their resources, it won’t cost more than RM5,000.’
RM50k wooden jetty in Miri: Netizens take Public Works Dept to task
‘RM50k for wooden jetty includes safety cost in crocodile-infested waters’
RM50k wooden jetty: MACC finds no element of corruption
Vijay47: Congratulations, MACC, on the speed at which the investigation was initiated, carried out, and concluded. Usain Bolt would be very impressed.
As usual, I have some doubts to clear but will restrict my questions to just a few, bearing in mind the re-emergence of that pretty boy whose transactions if at all thoroughly probed by MACC would cause many a policeman to change his uniform from blue to orange or purple.
So here goes:
1. Sarawak JKR (Public Works Department) explained that everything was above board because the selection of the contractor was by raffle. I can go with that. But how were the raffle candidates chosen? Everyone interested in applying or did they need to have some mysterious relationship with the village headman or JKR officials?
2. Did MACC do a detailed analysis of the expenses? It appears that MACC was immediately able to demand relevant documents like invoices, receipts, etc, and the contractor similarly able to present them in double-quick time.
3. What exactly do “safety costs” mean? Was a special barrier constructed, were sharpshooters stationed along the riverbanks in case unfriendly crocodiles made an unscheduled attack? Did Crocodile Dundee make a cameo appearance?
4. How many crocodiles were questioned about their possible role in the substantial cost of the wooden jetty? Did they engage any Queen’s Counsel?
By crocodiles, I of course mean the amphibious creatures given to riverine habitat, not the ones in the city.
So, why is everyone shocked or even surprised? This is the way of doing business in Malaysia, of bringing progress to everyone, of ‘building bridges’ between the government and the rakyat.
What is new about a RM50,000 bridge of this nature? Every government venture sees similar vultures in attendance, ripping off funds like there’s no tomorrow - from bridges to roads to food packets to buildings to airports.
And, keeping in touch with current trends, the distribution of laptops, tablets, and abacus sets.
Scrap away the surface and you will find a politician, his brother-in-law, and a government servant lurking beneath. If such ventures were once done furtively, they transformed into the blatant and on into the brazen.
The perpetrators appear assured that nothing would happen to them, that their patrons would ensure they are all laughing all the way to the bank.
And why not? MACC is too busy watching over their brothers’ shares.
Billy The Goat: If it's a collective effort by villagers who pool their resources, it won’t cost more than RM5,000. So, how on earth can we ever give our support to a government that unashamedly wastes public funds.
Every day you hear and see how corruption rears its ugly head everywhere in this Bolehland.
ScarletHornet9963: If a jetty of this design and size were to be built in Singapore, it might have indeed cost more than RM50,000.
However, Sarawak is a state that produces abundant logs, beams, and planks. Even the best timber would not be so expensive.
GrayPuffin9604: If the project scope simply says to build a 1m x 15m jetty, then the contractor can do what they like to meet the description.
However, the Public Works Department (PWD) must come up with a proper design and project specification for such work which the contractor must comply with.
If there is someone at fault here, it would be PWD.
OCT: This is nothing compared to cases highlighted by the Auditor-General’s Report, including a case where a screwdriver can cost a few hundred ringgit.
There was no prosecution as the department claimed that the person who made the award was stupid. And stupidity is not a crime.
Mano: Mahatma Gandhi said: “If there is an idiot in power, it means those who elected him are well represented. So, if there are dishonest and shameless people in power, it means those who elected him are equally well represented.”
Must be right, otherwise we will not have anything to do with these scoundrels, right?
So, Sarawakians. If we vote for rogues, the rogues will be ruling. Do the rogues reflect us? Do the rogues give us an inkling of perhaps who we are ourselves?
Fred Flint Stone: Wow, RM50,000. That’s almost US$12,000. You could have easily purchased a floating pontoon with rails for that price, which would have lasted decades.
Let’s be transparent here. Let’s see the full purchase price and all the required paperwork that make up the RM50,000 price tag.
Yeah, I thought so.
Savethenation: What’s so difficult to give a breakdown of the cost? After all, it’s only RM50,000.
Newday: This seems to be a small project that comes with difficult logistics. That, I can accept. What I can’t accept is a jetty built in this way would not last particularly long.
It’s a remote area, so why not spend more on something more substantial like galvanised steel that would last much longer than what we have now. You would be lucky to last even five years out of these decking timbers.
ABCXYZ: I think the bigger issue will come from the crocodiles that can speak rather than those that can’t.
These crocodiles are more of a danger and a menace to society and should be eliminated, not just for this project but in all Bolehland projects.
Headhunter: Indeed, you better believe it when they mentioned about crocodiles. Every government project is infested with them.
