SHOCK EXPOSE – RM5.7 BILLION TRAIN PURCHASES FROM CHINA: KTM RUSHES TO DENY ACCUSATION BY ITS OWN WORKERS UNION, THROWS HOT POTATO TO PREVIOUS UMNO-BN GOVT

KUALA LUMPUR: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTM Bhd) has denied a claim by its workers’ union that it purchased train sets from China worth RM5.7 billion.

Its CEO, Rani Hisham Samsudin, clarified that the purchase was made by the government.

“No such thing,” he said after his meeting with the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) today, referring to the claim made by Railwaymen’s Union of Malaya (RUM) president Abdul Razak Md Hassan.

Razak said KTM bought 30 units of six-car sets that cost RM1.9 billion in 2012 and 10 units of Electric Train Sets (ETS) valued at RM507 million in 2013.

He claimed the railway company also bought nine ETS units worth RM1.1 billion and 13 sets of Diesel Multiple Units worth RM1.5 billion, in addition to signing a RM750 million agreement to maintain 38 units of six-car sets.

“The purchases were not made according to technical specifications and the needs of KTMB,” said Razak.

“They were built based on the needs of the transport ministry and not KTMB as the user.”

Rani said KTM would also make an announcement soon on its financial performance.

“Some areas we are making money, but in some we are not,” he said.

– FMT