PETALING JAYA: Former human resources minister M Kula Segaran has demanded an explanation over the RM154 million hike in the price of Socso’s National Neuro-Robotics and Cybernetics Rehabilitation Centre project, after it was awarded via direct negotiation.
The Ipoh Barat MP said the Socso board’s rationale of wanting to ‘save time’ by allowing the project to be awarded via direct negotiation, was highly questionable.
He claimed that projects awarded in such a manner could have an element of corruption due to the large amount of money involved.
According to Kula, when he headed the human resources ministry in 2018 under the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, the project was only valued at RM500 million.
He said the now RM654 million project was awarded via direct negotiation by the former Perikatan Nasional-led government, after the fall of the PH government in February 2020.
“Previously, I ensured that Socso procured government land so that it would be much cheaper, and we had numerous engagements with the Perak State Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and finally procured the land in Ipoh.
“All of this was done transparently and openly. So, I want the human resources ministry to explain the sudden increase. What additional costs have you incurred? What additional facilities are you building with that extra money?” Kula asked.
He also demanded an explanation on why an open tender was not carried out, seeing that he wanted the project to go through the process when he was the minister.
Kula urged Putrajaya to review the tender and trim down the cost of the project. He said the lack of exploration could lead to suboptimal outcomes for the project and a waste of funds.
“This was done many times under the former PH government where we relooked at projects (awarded by the Najib Razak administration) and found ways to save money by trimming down excessive costs,” he said. - FMT
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