Puspakom monopoly is a ‘sensitive issue’

Deputy Minister in the PM's Department SK Devamany's response in Parliament earns him the wrath of opposition and his own BN colleagues.

KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department SK Devamany took a beating from members of his own coalition for defending the government’s move to allow Puspakom (Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre) monopoly over vehicle inspection rights.

Several BN lawmakers were riled up with four of them taking the floor simultaneously to rap Devamany who told the Dewan Rakyat that the exclusivity given to Puspakom was a “sensitive issue”.

“Why is it a sensitive issue? Is it a national threat?,” Kalabakan MP Abdul Ghapur Salleh charged.

Earlier, in response to a question by Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah), Devamany said the firm has met with all the required criteria set by the government.

Unhappy with his reply, Fong chastised the the Cameron Highlands MP and said the Najib administration’s “People First, Performance Now” tagline was hypocritical.

“What is this? The deputy minister did not answer why Puspakom gets the contract directly? Where is your government of ‘performance now’?” she charged.

DRB-Hicom Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary Puspakom Sdn Bhd had recently entered into a concession agreement with the government and had its exclusive right extended.

The concession agreement, for a 15-year period commencing Sept 1, 2009 to Aug 31, 2024, will see Puspakom pay a pre-determined concession fee to the government.

Besides, Puspakom will also maintain a minimum paid-up share capital of RM20 million within the concession period.

But according to Fong, Devamany had told the Lower House on Dec 1 last year that the government planned to extend Puspakom’s contract only until 2014 and an open tender process will take place for new applications.

‘Why preference for Puspakom?’

The deputy minister did not reply to this and only said that the government had introduced clauses which included KPIs and regulated check-up fees to the extension contract to ensure accountability from the inspection outfit.

At this point, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN/Umno-Pasir Salak) reiterated Fong’s question and asked if there exist any other quality companies qualified for the contract but the deputy minister remained evasive.

“What? Are there no other companies that can do this job? Why preference for Puspakom?” asked Tajuddin.

He was backed by his fellow BN backbencher and Public Accounts Committee chairman Azmi Khalid (BN/Umno-Padang Besar) who chided Devamany with a question: “It’s not rocket science (for you to answer the question)”.

The deputy minister maintained that he has answered all the questions. The House resumed sitting after Deputy Speaker Wan Junaidi Jaafar demanded calm in the House.