Former transport minister Liow Tiong Lai was today grilled by the Public Accounts Committee in relation to the implementation of the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) system that imposes charges on vehicles entering Malaysia from Singapore.
Liow, who went before the PAC at 2.30pm, addressed the press after the hearing concluded almost two hours later.
He told reporters that he gave his full cooperation to the committee, and defended the direct negotiation process in awarding the VEP contract.
"The cabinet had instructed the Transport Ministry to immediately implement the VEP system because, by mid-2014, Singapore had announced that they were increasing their VEP charge from S$20 (RM60) to S$35 (RM105).
"We found that the project was urgent and had to be expedited," he said.
Despite the direct negotiation, Liow said the Transport Ministry did set certain conditions, including that the company awarded the project would only receive payment upon successful implementation.
He added that the ministry had a problematic experience with open tenders, with a previous KTM-related project awarded through such a system ending up in failure.
"I would like to clarify that we did not hide anything in the direction negotiation process (for the VEP contract), as we abided by the guidelines provided by the government," he said.
Liow pointed out that the first phase of the system was implemented in 2016, and the government had since collected RM250 million in revenue.
The PAC commenced its investigation into the VEP contact after the auditor-general's report stated it was granted to a company which had no prior experience.
After the hearing, PAC chairperson Ronald Kiandee that the necessary information had been obtained from Liow.
However, Kiandee added that as per procedure, the committee could not reveal what transpired during the hearing until its report is ready. - Mkini
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