Source: Reconsider KVDT2 termination as thousands will lose jobs

 

The termination of the Klang Valley Double Tracking Phase 2 (KVDT2) rail project will have a disastrous impact on the staff of Dhaya Maju LTAT Sdn Bhd and affiliated contracted workers, said a company source.

Calling on the cabinet and Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong to rethink the cancellation due to its impact on a significant number of Malaysians, the source told Malaysiakini that the contract termination would result in the loss of thousands of jobs.

"The company will have to terminate the services of engineers, skilled workers and professionals, including military veterans and others - as many as 1,000 people all of whom are Malaysians.

"In addition to that, Dhaya Maju will have to terminate the contracts of more than 200 local vendors and sub-contractors," said the source, reminding the government that unemployment was already very high due to the movement control order to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The source said the local vendors were among a total workforce of 7,000 people whose livelihood would be affected.

"Additionally, if this project is shut down, the LTAT (Armed Forces Fund Board) will lose one of its sources of annual dividend income for Malaysian military personnel," said the source.

The project was shut down after the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government even though the company has completed 24 percent of the project and the government has already made progressive payments in excess of RM93 million.

It is understood that the cabinet will be discussing the issue tomorrow.

In August, Wee reportedly said the government will reopen the KVDT2 project tender.

Wee reportedly said this was because an investigation found that the RM4.475 billion project was still overpriced despite cost-cutting measures carried out by the Harapan administration under his predecessor Anthony Loke.

Dhaya Maju had on Sept 7 filed a lawsuit to prevent the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government from terminating its contract for the Klang Valley Double Tracking Phase 2 (KVDT2) project.

The chief executive officer Mohamed Razeek Hussain reportedly said at the time that the company has the capability to carry out the project, which was why it was given the contract twice, first by the BN government and later by the Harapan administration in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

On Sept 18, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the company’s bid for an interim injunction against the PN government and Wee, who are the first and second listed defendants in the related main suit.

On that day (Sept 18), it was reported that Dhaya Maju would be filing an appeal over the dismissal of the bid for the interim injunction, which had sought to maintain the status quo between parties pending disposal of the main suit against the two defendants.

Finally, on Sept 24, the government issued a letter of termination for the contract of the KVDT2 rail project.

The project came into the spotlight after Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz revealed details of the 101 contracts that were purportedly awarded through a direct negotiation process during the time Pakatan Harapan was in power.

KVDT2 was the largest in terms of value on the list. - Mkini