Shahidan accuses minister of allegedly confusing Dewan over TH rebrand

 

PARLIAMENT | Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau) has accused Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Na’im Mokhtar of misleading the Dewan Rakyat over the Tabung Haji (TH) issue.

This followed Na’im’s speech at the August house this morning, where he confirmed TH had hired a company via direct negotiation for its rebranding exercise.

Shahidan claimed that the minister’s remarks had violated Dewan Rakyat’s Standing Order 36(12), and called for Na’im to be referred to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee.

He cited a news article last year in which Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said there would be no direct negotiations under the Madani government.

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“But TH has continued doing direct negotiations. This not only violates Standing Order 36(12) but also goes against ‘Madani’.

“This upsets me. It’s still okay if they violate other things, but when they go against the Madani (government), I am angry,” Shahidan said sarcastically.

‘Wait for speaker’s decision’

When queried by Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Alice Lau, who was presiding over the session, the PAS representative said he had submitted the motion to speaker Johari Abdul earlier but had yet to get a response.

Lau then told Shahidan that he should wait for Johari’s decision because it is the speaker’s prerogative.

Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Alice Lau

During Minister’s Question Time this morning, Ahmad Marzuk Shaary (PN-Pengkalan Chepa) asked Na’im to state whether TH still uses direct negotiation for procurements.

The minister then confirmed that TH had hired a consortium via direct negotiation to carry out its rebranding exercise.

Na’im then listed several justifications behind the decision.

He said such a procurement approach is allowed in certain circumstances, especially when a project requires specific expertise.

“This selection has undergone a strict governance process which includes a comprehensive assessment of technical and commercial expertise, price negotiations, as well as approval by the tender committee and subsequently the board of directors, to ensure transparency, accountability, and the best value for the organisation,” the minister said. - Mkini