Call for RCI over all direct nego contracts

MP SPEAKS | Malaysians have to thank Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz for highlighting the issue of direct negotiation contracts although his intention was not so noble as it was primarily a mean political power play in Parliament aimed at the Pakatan Harapan government to suggest that it was lacking in integrity in the conduct of financial affairs.

But Zafrul’s ham-fisted strategy has returned to bite him and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government and scoring his own goal as the list of 101 projects given through direct negotiations worth RM6.61 billion released by him had become the most powerful testimony that the 22-month Harapan government, whatever its mistakes or shortcomings, was better than both the previous BN government and the present “backdoor” PN government.

If Zafrul is sincere, honest and upright, he would have praised the Harapan government for saving the country RM790 million in Phase 2 of Klang Valley double-tracking project by paring the RM5.265 billion contract signed by the BN government a day before the Parliament was dissolved in March 2018 to RM4.475 billion.

Can Zafrul give a single instance where PN and the Finance Ministry under him had saved the country RM790 million in reviewing the contracts signed by the Harapan government?

Instead of casting aspersions about the lack of integrity of Harapan in managing the financial affairs of the country, Zafrul should be praising Harapan.

Is Zafrul prepared to release the list of contracts awarded by direct negotiations which he had approved in the past six months since the formation of the “backdoor” PN government to show that there is nothing to hide?

If he has no hesitation in releasing the list of contracts reached by direct negotiations by the 22-month Harapan government, why is he so shy in releasing the list of contracts reached by direct negotiations under PN as well?

Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng, has pointed out that the Harapan was only responsible for 5.3 percent of the directly awarded contracts worth RM6.6 billion revealed by Zafrul, as most of the RM6.61 billion went to legacy projects (67.7 percent) and contracts for supplies or services (26.5 percent) taken on during the BN administration.

The Harapan government was only responsible for a fraction (0.07 percent) of the directly awarded contracts during its 22 months in power, which were mostly due to reasons that could not be avoided.

Former international trade and industry minister Darel Leiking and his deputy Ong Kian Ming have pointed out in their joint statement that four projects, which cost RM8.18 million or 79 percent of the RM10.4 million of the direct negotiations projects attributed to Miti, took place under the BN government in the three months before GE14. These were Young CEO Summit 2018, Himpunan Usahawan Bumiputera, Jom Niaga Wilayah Utara and MINI SDSI (Satu Daerah Satu Industri).

Is Zafrul prepared to admit publicly that he had been misinformed?

Lim has also alleged that based on the list of 101 contracts, four key Bersatu figures were involved in government contracts that were awarded without open tender when they were part of the Harapan administration, viz the present Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when he was the home minister under the Harapan government; International Trade and Industries Minister Azmin Ali, who was the economic affairs minister at the time; Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun.

Will Zafrul hold a joint press conference with these four ministers to put across their side of the story?

Be that as it may, the time has come for a Royal Commission to be formed to investigate into all the direct negotiation contracts in the past 10 years from 2010 to 2020 covering all three BN, Harapan and PN governments.

Will Zafrul spearhead in cabinet today the call for an RCI to investigate into all direct negotiation contracts in the past 10 years covering all the governments and to ensure that such an announcement on the establishment of an RCI is publicly made by National Day on Aug 31?

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LIM KIT SIANG is DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri. - Mkini