KKIA fiasco: Pairin tells Kong to do site inspection

The Sabah deputy chief minister, conscious of Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha's 'powerful position' in the federal government, has chosen not to apportion blame over the airport debacle.

KOTA KINABALU: The scandal over the delay in completing the expansion and upgrading of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) has sparked a round of recriminations in the state and federal governments, with one accusing the other of incompetency and negligence.

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan yesterday lashed out at Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha for allowing the problem to worsen until the contractor involved in the project made the extreme decision to stop work this week.

Pairin, who has been caught in the controversy as Sabah Infrastructure Development Minister, said the federal minister involved should visit the site since the Transport Ministry had labelled the on-going KKIA work “non-compliant” and as such, declared the airport “unsafe”.

Pairin, who was corned by reporters after an official function here and asked to comment on Putatan MP Marcus Mojigoh’s suggestion that Kong come to Sabah and do an on-site inspection of the KKIA project, said he agreed with Mojigoh’s statement.

Pairin, however, attempted to dilute Mojigoh’s criticism which went as far as calling Kong “lazy” and also urging him to step down if he did not know how to resolve the problem.

Conscious that Kong is a powerful figure in the Barisan Nasional coalition and with his party colleagues in the state government waiting for an opportunity to launch a scathing attack on his (Pairin’s) own performance, the deputy chief minister attempted to skirt around the Transport Ministry’s role in the KKIA fiasco and not to apportion blame.

He said the state government would rely on the ministry’s statement but reiterated that the state government was aware that many were saying “the ministry concerned did not play its role as expected of it”.

The matter, he said, needed further “in-depth inspection” to verify if the contractor had not performed according to the terms of the contract.

“But I agree with the statement that the minister concerned should immediately come down here to inspect the airport,” he said of Mojigoh’s statement two days ago.

Airport ‘unsafe’

Global Upline Sdn Bhd, the contractor engaged by the government to undertake the expansion and resurfacing of the existing runway, announced earlier this week that it had stopped work on the project “in the interest of safety to aircraft operations and passengers alike”.

“We would like to inform the public that the runway is not safe for landing, take-off and other operations since it has been certified non-complete by Transport Ministry,” Global Upline Sdn Bhd (GUSB) chief adviser Ting Pek Khing said in a statement on Tuesday.

The fresh setback at the KKIA, barely a month after an uproar over malfunctioning runway lights brought the airport to a standstill, stranding thousands of domestic and international travellers for more than 48 hours, has caught many by surprise.

Ting blamed the ministry for the “unsafe” certification which he said is the logical conclusion as the company’s work had been certified as non-compliant by the ministry.

He said the ministry had failed to fulfil its promise to issue a Certificate of Practical Completion (CPC) to GUSB upon completion of section one of the works in package two of the project by April 30, this year.

“By April 30, GUSB had practically completed section one of the works by… fully utilising its available resources.

“The ministry, however, refused to issue the CPC and subsequent release of 50% of the banker’s guarantee (BG) and instead, issued a Certificate of Non-Compliance [CNC] and imposed liquidated damages (LAD),” he said.

According to Ting, section one included runway extension, resurfacing the existing runway, new taxiways A, C, D, E and K, installing a 7km high tension cable and three automated pump stations.

Apart from the KKIA project, Ting said the ministry had also refused to pay RM113 million contractual claim for the upgrade of Kuching International Airport and RM21 million for Labuan Airport, and left GUSB with no choice but to commence legal action to recover the outstanding payment.

The KKIA expansion project was approved in 2005. It is the second busiest airport in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur International Airport, handling 5.8 million passengers in 2011.

Kong is a senior member of MCA which is seen as the most powerful BN component after Umno. The party also has a high-profile presence in the Sabah government.