Railway union backs Loke, warns of China involvement in other KTM projects

 

The Railwaymen Union Of Malaya (RUM) has expressed support for Seremban MP Anthony Loke who has demanded answers from the Transport Ministry over claims that a contractor from China was being eyed for the Klang Valley Double Tracking Phase 2 (KVDT2) project.

"RUM is aware of the Loke's queries on the possibility that the project would be handed over to a company from China because that was the market talk for a while. And not just KVDT2 but other projects involving KTMB as well.

"The problem is that this is difficult to prove as long as the contracts are not awarded yet as these matters (allegedly) are in the planning phases.

"However, this has to be raised in order to prevent attempts to hand over the project to companies from China without an open tender process. We believe that this is Loke's implicit agenda," RUM said.

Yesterday, Loke told the Dewan Rakyat that court documents filed by KVDT2's original contractor Dhaya Maju-LTAT Sdn Bhd's CEO Mohamed Razeek Mohd Hussain Maricar revealed that Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong had, on April 14, urged the firm to subcontract the entire project to a "China company".

The plaintiff, Dhaya Maju-LTAT, declined to do so. Loke has since urged the Transport Ministry to respond to the matter.

Wee, who is currently in a hospital recuperating from spinal surgery, said the revelations by Loke "are just some baseless accusations by DM-LTAT" and that he would respond to them after his discharge.

Mohamed Razeek's affidavit was filed on Oct 27 in support of DM-LTAT's application for an injunction against the government's decision to terminate the KVDT2 contract and re-tender the railway tracks restoration project.

DM-LTAT was awarded the contract in April 2018 during the time of the BN administration. A revised contract was penned after during the Pakatan Harapan administration, only for the project to be terminated again by the current Perikatan Nasional administration.

Meanwhile, RUM said it disagreed with the federal government's decision to cancel the contract because it would cause further delays and risk the safety of train users in the Klang Valley.

The union said KTMB's income would also be affected by further delays. - Mkini