PKR digs a bigger hole for Najib: Direct hand in George Kent award, Scorpenes link

PKR leaders have revealed documents to show Prime Minister Najib Razak not only had full knowledge but also played a direct hand in the controversial decision to award the RM1.18 bil Ampang LRT project to a consortium led by George Kent Bhd.

George Kent is controlled by businessman Tan Kay Hock, a friend of Najib's since his secondary school days. It is deemed to have insufficient experience for the project and moreover, had put in a higher bid.

Based on the minutes of a meeting held by the Finance ministry procurement unit chaired by Najib, it was clear that the PM led the decision to award the deal to George Kent.

Such a move overrode the recommendations made by the project overseer Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, which wanted to award the tender to another firm - PDA Consortium.

“The only expertise George Kent has is in the production water gauge meters. The company was earlier rejected because the company did not meet the minimum technical requirement for the job,” Rafizi told a press conference on Tuesday to reveal the minutes he had obtained from anonymous sources.

“I think it is a disaster in the making if a company that make water meters is offered a multi-billion ringgit LRT extension project."

Placating Scorpenes vendor DCNS?

Rafizi's latest revelation is all the more shocking as he had previously alleged there were also plans by Najib and George Kent to award part of LRT job to the French firm that sold Malaysia 2 Scorpene submarines.

French naval giant DCNS is now on trial in France for allegedly having bribed Malaysian officials including Najib to seal the RM7.3bil Scorpenes acquisition.

Speculation is rife that Najib might now be trying to 'placate' DCNS by giving part of the Ampang LRT deal via George Kent. DCNS evidence is crucial for the French investigative judge to decide whether or not Najib was directly implicated.

The Malaysian PM faces a possible subpoena to take the witness stand in Paris. Failure to do so may result in him becoming a fugitive of the law as far as Eurozone countries are concerned.

Not yet named, but Najib doesn't deny it is George Kent

The winner of the Ampang LRT tender has not been officially named yet, although press reports abound quoting anonymous officials as claiming that George Kent had won the tender.

Nonetheless, Najib, who has been asked to clarify the George Kent accusations, has refused to either deny or confirm the allegations, except to claim that everything was done according to standard procedures.

It has also been reported that the George Kent consortium was one of the three bidders which failed both the technical and commercial evaluation for the contract.

Only five of the eight bidders passed the technical and commercial evaluation stage and Prasarana finally recommended PDA - one of the two South Korean consortia in the running.

Malaysia Chronicle