List of direct negotiation projects issued for transparency - Zafrul

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz has reiterated that the list of government projects awarded via direct negotiations under the Pakatan Harapan administration was released in the interest of transparency.

“There is nothing wrong in conducting direct negotiations for projects under Section 6 (1) of the Financial Procedure Act 1957 (Revised 1972).

"There are policies surrounding it as well, which enable justification for direct negotiations,” he said.

Zafrul stressed that the issue should not be politicised.

“To me, it is just factual, and a reflection of what was signed based on the data (letter of awards signed) that we have in the Finance Ministry. It should not be an issue,” he told reporters after launching the Dana Penjana Nasional today.

Yesterday, the ministry released a list of 101 projects awarded via direct negotiations worth RM6.61 billion which were approved by the Harapan government.

Zafrul said as a representative of the people he was just answering the questions raised to him in Parliament.

“(The list) is just factual, and we don’t talk about who negotiated it or when it was done in terms of letter of awards, but this was what was signed during Harapan's time,” he said.

He added that issues such as when the negotiations began can be explained by anyone.

- Bernama