RM285m project approved in Nov 2020, not after Parliament dissolved – ministry

 

The Environment and Water Ministry has denied that the RM285 million reservoir sewerage upgrade project in South Klang was approved after Parliament was dissolved on Oct 10.

This comes after PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli (above) yesterday produced a letter dated Oct 27, which purportedly detailed the Finance Ministry’s approval of the project for direct negotiations with a company.

The ministry clarified the project had been approved as early as November 2020, under the 12th Malaysian Plan’s Rolling Plan 1 for 2021 and that the project’s procurement had begun on Oct 6 last year.

“Throughout the caretaker government’s tenure – that is after the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10 – the Environment Ministry has postponed the process of issuing letters of intent, offer letters and letters of acceptance of tender as well as any form of negotiations with contractors.

“The ministry is very careful in taking any action while the caretaker government is in charge.

“Hence, the statement (from Rafizi) does not arise at all because there have been no contracts formed between the government and companies during this period of time,” the ministry said in a statement today.

The Oct 27 letter should not have been revealed to the public before having its authenticity verified by authorities first, the ministry said, adding the expose was meant to create a bad perception of the ministry under the caretaker government.

The ministry reiterated that the claims of the project being approved after the dissolution of Parliament had no basis, and that relevant authorities should investigate the matter.

Previously, there was a Treasury circular on Oct 18 stating the caretaker government must avoid entering into contractual commitments or undertakings that would have financial implications for the next government.

The same circular, however, states that the government can continue with existing policies and development projects or enter contracts in matters where the financial allocations have been approved by Parliament and the government - before it went into caretaker mode.

Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz

Outgoing finance minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz responded to Rafizi’s allegations yesterday, saying the Oct 27 letter was not an agreement to award a contract to a company.

Instead, it was a letter to approve negotiations involving the Environment and Water Ministry, after which the ministry would still need to discuss with the company and send its recommendations with regard to its next steps to the Finance Ministry. - Mkini