Rafizi challenges George Kent to deny letter of intent

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — PKR's Rafizi Ramli today challenged the George Kent consortium, which had allegedly won the multi-billion Ampang LRT extension contract, to deny that it was given a letter of intent (LOI).

He insisted that George Kent had received an LOI, which he says is the "second last step" before the Letter of Award for the contract.

He added that George Kent "has been going around soliciting contractors indicating that they've received the LOI."

"They (George Kent) should answer whether they have received the LOI," said Rafizi(picture), the party's strategic chief.

He was responding to George Kent chairman Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock's denial yesterday that the company won the contract, as the contract is "still under evaluation".

Rafizi also urged Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (SPNB) to refute his claims that the contract has already been awarded to the George Kent consortium.

"The ball is in Prasarana's court...Prasarana should come up if they're so confident that they have not issued the LOI."

"We've raised the issue almost a month ago. The only response we've got so far is they(Prasarana) dispute the authenticity of the document that we disclosed," he added.

Rafizi had recently showed copies of what looked like Ministry of Finance approval letters dated June 25 2012 agreeing to appoint George Kent for the job at a cost of RM1.18 billion, which Rafizi said was RM167 million more than the bids put in by other parties.

Rafizi declined to show "third-party" documents that could prove the existence of the LOI, saying that his sources were "uncomfortable" and wanted to "lie low".

The police recently questioned him about the leakage of documents related to the contract, which are classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

He had in recent weeks applied pressure on the prime minister for the alleged interference in the Ampang LRT extension tender, claiming that not only was George Kent's bid more expensive than others, but the company, which is best known for making water meters lacked sufficient track record for a major rail transit project.