Reveal privatisation deals made by Najib administration, Rafizi tells Zahid

Rafizi Ramli has urged the deputy prime minister to reveal privatisation contracts that were signed by the present federal government. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 29, 2015.

PKR's Rafizi Ramli today challenged Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to reveal all privatisation deals approved by the present government, after the deputy prime minister blamed the past administrations for lopsided contracts.

The PKR secretary-general said Zahid should not be harping on the sins of the past prime ministers if he himself did not want to reign in the current trend of privatising government projects.

"I urge Zahid to disclose all privatisation deals approved since Datuk Seri Najib Razak became prime minister, and to initiate action on these contracts to ensure the people are not burdened by excessively high compensation in the future to concessionaires.

"If he is not brave enough to reveal the contracts and take action to stop this craze of privatising government projects through concessions, he should not be talking about past concessions approved by the Umno/Barisan Nasional administrations,” he said in a statement.

Yesterday, Zahid admitted that the contracts were lopsided, but he urged the public not to blame the government as they were signed by the previous administration.

Zahid conceded that highway and independent power plant contracts, as well as those of Express Rail Link projects, were lopsided, which the current government was compelled to comply and follow.

"I don't want to name anyone. I don't want to lay blame on anyone. Don't blame us and compliment only the previous one (administration)," he was quoted as saying in reports.

Rafizi reminded the public that the government had even set up a unit under the Prime Minister's Department to facilitate the privatisation of government projects.

Under Najib's time, the government had inked contracts with private companies for new highways such as the EKVE, SUKE, WCCE as well as new hospitals, he said.

"In fact, we have no idea how many government facilities such as police stations, hospitals and military bases were secretly privatised under Najib's administration."

He added that Najib could still renegotiate the deals made with highway concessionaires and independent power producers, which were inked during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's time.

- TMI