Another project stole public money by BN government....Prasarana says ‘nothing to hide’ in Ampang LRT tender award

 

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (SPNB) has willingly surrendered all documents on the RM960 million Ampang Light Rail Transit (LRT) extension project to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), its group managing director said today.

Datuk Shahril Mokhtar denied that MACC’s visit to SNPB yesterday was a “raid”, and stressed that the Ampang LRT project owner had absolutely “nothing to hide.”

PKR’s Rafizi Ramli alleged today that the MACC had confiscated important documents that would shed light on alleged misappropriation in the awarding of the Ampang LRT extension project.

“We monitor the blogs, what Rafizi says. We contacted MACC, who came by yesterday on a fact-finding mission.

“MACC came, and we gave them what they wanted. We gave all the documents relating to the Ampang LRT tender,” Shahril told The Malaysian Insider.

“Before they came, we were already ready. We have nothing to hide,” he said.

When asked to comment on Rafizi’s claims as to the awarding of the tender for the project, Shahril said:
“He (Rafizi) can say what he wants. It was not a raid. We are transparent,” he added.

Rafizi has demanded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak state whether George Kent Consortium was actually awarded the contract, saying his denial last night was “dismissive and he was clearly avoiding the question.”

PKR has claimed to possess “solid, documentary proof” that the prime minister intervened in the awarding of the contract, and has lodged a police report over alleged criminal breach of trust and abuse of power.

But PM Najib denied yesterday that he had a hand in the selection of George Kent for the Ampang LRT project, insisting that the process was “done properly.”

“The haste with which MACC acted to ‘raid’ Prasarana’s office also raises the question whether this is more an attempt to seal off all documents that can prove the award to George Kent and GK’s disqualification as a front runner from this tender,” Rafizi told The Malaysian Insider.

He said the onus was also on SPNB to come clean with the status of the award contract.

“Starting from next week, we will begin disclosing the details of the evaluation to show how much an award to George Kent is, in fact, a threat to public safety, besides the fact that they do not deserve the tender,” Rafizi said.

PKR had previously questioned a Business Times report that a George Kent Bhd joint-venture could win the RM960 million contract for the Ampang Light Rail Transit (LRT) extension project, saying the consortium had been eliminated in the bidding process.

Rafizi had said on June 22 that he “can expose that George Kent is not the consortium that was chosen in Prasarana’s open tender process” despite the speculation by the business daily.

The speculated winner of the Ampang LRT system works, the George Kent consortium, was one of three bidders that failed both the technical and commercial evaluation for the RM960 million contract.

Sources told that only five of the eight bidders passed the technical and commercial evaluation stage but project owner SPNB finally recommended one of the two South Korean consortiums in the running — PDA Consortium — as the other consortiums were said to have not complied with all conditions.

PM Najib denied yesterday that he had a hand in the selection of George Kent for the Ampang LRT project. — file pic
PKR officials have shown copies of official documents to the press, showing that the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF)

Acquisition Committee, which met on January 25, had decided to award the contract to the Balfour Beatty Invensys Consortium.

The committee is the highest decision-making body in the MoF and is chaired by Najib himself, who is also finance minister.

The Business Times said Putrajaya was due to announce the winning bidder by the end of June, adding that George Kent was tipped to get the lucrative project. The highest bid received for the project tender, which closed on June 16, was RM1.45 billion.

But PKR’s sheaf of documents showed that the SPNB meeting on December 2, 2011, had recommended that PDA Consortium undertake the project for RM1.12 billion over 44 months. SPNB is a wholly-owned unit of the MoF and the company has budgeted RM1.5 billion for the system works.

SPNB is spending some RM7 billion for the extension of both the Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT rail networks. The Ampang network will be extended by 17.7km.

Apart from extending the current LRT lines, Putrajaya is also undertaking the multi-billion ringgit My Rapid Transit (MRT) project that will snake through the capital city. The country’s most expensive infrastructure project to date is to be ready by June 2017 but there have been delays and reluctance by international companies to bid for the tenders on offer.

The Land Transport Commission (SPAD) has announced that up to RM160 billion could be spent on railway infrastructure projects in the country, making Malaysia a tempting destination for international engineering firms.

 

 

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Not a raid, MACC & SPNB had tea-time and after everything was over, shook hands and went their separate ways. This is my 'perception' of how the alleged raid went.

macc having a laugh. their involvement is more for exonerating than investigation

Looks like BN in general and UMNO in particular are going to feast themselves before the curtains fall on the regime. Another wave of UMNOputras multi-millionaires in the making, ALL AT THE EXPENSE OF THE POOR RAKYAT!!

BN threatening public with Merdeka theme

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) are charged with  threatening the public with the “Janji Ditepati” (Promises Fulfilled) theme for this year’s Merdeka celebrations.

The theme ran contrary to the ideas of freedom associated with independence and condemned Datuk Seri Najib Razak for using a national holiday and state apparatus for “narrow political propaganda.”

 “instead of a message of freedom that can be embraced by everyone” the ruling coalition chose a theme that “runs contrary to independence and instead threatens and fragments Malaysians.”

anyone can tell it is an election slogan” that “fails to inspire people to unite”.It should transcend party politics instead of being a BN slogan that tries to snare you in a net..

but  that  theme was ‘an election slogan’ that ‘fails to inspire people to unite’.

The government had announced yesterday the theme for Malaysia Day and National Day celebrations, which fall on September 16 and August 31 respectively, with the latter seeing Najib address the country in a night event at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

The Umno president has been campaigning across the country on a tour dubbed “Jelajah Janti Ditepati” over the past month in which he has accused the opposition of being an unreliable government which does not fulfil its promises.

The strategy appears to be geared towards winning approval for the BN coalition which lags far behind the prime minister’s own popularity.

The Pekan MP received a 65 per cent approval rating in a Merdeka Center poll last month but his government only gained a 48 per cent approval in the survey done after the Bersih rally on April 28.

“it is certain elections won’t be before September 16.”

This propaganda was started by the new Chief Secretary, who told civil servants not to believe the opposition’s empty promises,referring to Datuk Seri Ali Hamsa’s statement on Sunday to the 1.4-million-strong public service.

Merdeka should be about the freedom of the mind, and freedom from fear of change. Instead, the government is saying, if you change you will lose this and that..

 

 

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How do you vote for a leader who threatens you with a kris and boil it in blood ????
This hardcore racist, and a very persistent one at that, is indeed not to be trusted.
He flips and flops wherever the wind blows.

Well people of Malaysia, let's all wear the yellow Bersih's T-shirt to Dataran Merdeka during the next Merdeka day's celebration this August the 31st .... let's see how many tear gas they'll fire this time !!!

BN is unwilling to relinquish their power & will do anything to stay in power. BN & all its lapdogs will be using the Government's fund & machinery to apply pressure on the Rakyat just to keep them in power. After so many years of leakages, they can't afford to lose, otherwise, many of them will be brought to justice. The are afraid, very afraid as this could be a do or die election!

Submarine scandal surfaces to trouble PM ahead of polls

Malaysia’s government will address allegations today over its purchase of two French submarines, responding to a scandal that threatens to tarnish Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak ahead of elections he is expected to call later this year.

Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is due to speak in parliament on allegations that Malaysian navy documents were sold to French shipbuilding giant DCNS to help its bid for the €1 billion (RM4 billion) contract it won in 2002.

Najib, defence minister at the time, has for years denied allegations of wrongdoing in the purchase of the Scorpene-class submarines. There has been no evidence linking him directly to corruption in the deal and his supporters say the political opposition is behind efforts to revive the issue just ahead of the election.

But his government is under mounting pressure to give a fuller explanation of the dealings after documents in a French court case brought by a Malaysian human rights group were leaked and picked up by the country’s lively online media.

The documents, including records seized by French prosecutors in a raid on DCNS’s offices, detail payments made to two companies set up by former political analyst Razak Baginda, a former associate of Najib who worked on the submarine deal.

The documents, most of which were published this week by online media group Asia Sentinel, contain a report prepared for DCNS stating that major defence contracts required “substantial transfers of money to individuals and/or organisations”.

“In Malaysia, usually ... the ruling party is the largest beneficiary,” the document said, referring to Najib’s long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno).

Another document quotes a former top DCNS executive saying that Perimekar, one of Razak Baginda’s companies, appeared to be little more than a “travel agency” set up to create “unjust enrichment” for its shareholders.

Mongolian murdered

Joseph Breham, a lawyer representing rights group SUARAM in the French case, told Reuters that the leaked documents were genuine.

“We cannot prove the money went to Umno. But we can prove the money had no counterpart. If it was not for corruption, they paid for nothing,” Breham said.

Officials at DCNS, a state-controlled company part-owned by defence electronics group Thales, could not immediately be reached for comment. Malaysian government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A source close to Malaysia’s government said that SUARAM was heavily linked to the country’s opposition, which is aiming to topple the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in elections that Najib must call by March. Government supporters say that civil prosecutions, such as that brought by SUARAM, are common in France and are no indication that a crime has been committed.

Breham told reporters at a news conference in Bangkok last month that a confidential Malaysian navy document assessing the French bid was sold to DCNS by another Razak Baginda-controlled firm, Terasasi, for €36 million. Opposition politicians have said that would amount to treason, if proved to be true.

Malaysia’s government has acknowledged that Perimekar received €114 million for its support services, but has yet to comment on the role of Hong Kong-based Terasasi.

The documents also mention Razak Baginda’s relationship with Altantuya Shaariibuu, a murdered Mongolian interpreter and model who was blown up with military-grade explosives near Kuala Lumpur in 2006. Razak Baginda was acquitted of the murder but two of Najib’s bodyguards were convicted and jailed for killing the woman. Razak Baginda is believed to have moved to Europe and could not be reached for comment.

The allegations emerging from the French court have helped galvanise Malaysia’s opposition. The coalition is expected to win the election but its victory is far from guaranteed after the opposition made shock gains in 2008 that shook the BN’s half-century grip on power.

“Any implication that the Scorpene deal involved corruption would be enough to derail him (Najib),” opposition MP Tony Pua told Reuters at a recent dinner to raise funds for SUARAM’s legal expenses.

 

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“In Malaysia, usually ... the ruling party is the largest beneficiary,” the document said, referring to Najib’s long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno). 

This is corruption at the highest level. How can a public servant using public money to channel them to their political party? This is treating public money and private fund and is illegal.

This is obvious corruption why MACC is not taking any action but wait for others to do it. What a shame.

Malaysia’s government has acknowledged that Perimekar received €114 million for its support services. 

€114 million for its support services!!!!! What kind of support services??? Did other countries like Indonesia/Singapore/Thailand/etc pay €114 million for its support services!!

It is quite clear that Perimekar received the kickbacks. What "support services"! It is plain corruption and abuse of power by UMNO cronies.

BN and umno can try to wiggle out of this mess that they created. They can give excuses, blame others or even get scapegoats. 

But they can't hide. They can't hide from justice and they can't hide from the fairminded Rakyat who demands justice. 

Justice not in the form of an eye for an eye because we are civilised but we shall bring them down by getting them to face the people's court in the election and have them voted out for good. 

These immoral people are NOT fit to lead this nation. They do not deserve our loyalty and they certainly don't deserve our vote.

we need to built apartments for our Rakyat NOT condos the cows !!!....Government reps on NFCorp board not fit to be directors....!!!!

Government representatives on the board of the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) lacked the skills necessary to be company directors, Parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC) found today in its probe of the firm accused of abusing a RM250 million federal loan.

Panel chief Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid also told a press conference there were “weaknesses” in standard operating procedures (SOP) to protect the government’s interests in the company, after quizzing Finance and Agriculture Ministry officials for over five hours.

“We found quite a number of weaknesses in the SOP, weaknesses in giving clear instructions from the higher-ups.

“The officers representing the ministries did not have the knowhow to be on the board of directors. Maybe they knew their responsibilities but actions to ensure the proper procedures were taken were not done,” the Padang Besar MP said.

Azmi also added that directors should be well versed in the Companies Act and the accounts of their company but when asked specifically if the ministry representatives did not display good knowledge of NFCorp’s accounts, he refused to comment saying he had to be fair to them.

“I don’t want to answer that as it can go over the line,” he said, referring to orders from Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia not to touch on criminal charges against NFCorp chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail as it would be sub judice.

“For any board member, there are guidelines. You must be conversant in the Companies Act,” the former Cabinet minister added.

He also refused to comment on the role or responsibilities of the Finance and Agriculture Ministry representatives, Datuk Abdul Manaf Hussin and Alias Mohd Yassin respectively, in approving disbursement of funds from the company.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was dogged by allegations of corruption in the RM250 million federally-funded cattle-farming project awarded to NFCorp, a firm owned and operated by her husband Mohamad Salleh and three children, when she was still a member of Cabinet.

NFCorp has been accused of using the RM250 million loan to finance over RM60 million in assets and expenses unrelated to the cattle-farming project it was tasked with carrying out, most of it via other companies owned by Shahrizat’s family.

The Wanita Umno chief even had to take a three-week leave of absence from her ministerial duties to allow the authorities to investigate claims of abuse and power against both her and her family.

The scandal, which has been dominating media headlines since last year, later led to Shahrizat stepping down as minister after her senatorship expired on April 8.

Before stepping down, her husband was charged with criminal breach of trust and violating the Companies Act in relation to RM49 million in federal funds given to NFCorp last March 12.

But the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said last month Shahrizat was not involved in any wrongdoing related to the award of the project to NFCorp

 

 

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A family of a minister running a government project is already not proper,how can this happen. 

Unless they have some help from the najib's administration which is and always will be full of corrupt.

What PAC is doing? Why no punishment for NFC and those who award tender to NFC?

What's new? Unskilled directors are a norm in crony county. Rakyat, vote for change, do your bit and save this country from sinking.

It is common knowledge that generally BN goverment appointee in GLC are appointed not due to their expertise but to reward them for their political contribution. Not surprising you'll have GM who doesn't know what a cash flow statement is, that loans cannot simply cannot be use for purposes other than specify in the loan agreement( they'll treat it as their personal loan), etc. Its time the goverment appoints professionals rather than political warlords!

The officers representing their ministries did not have the know how to be on the board of directors. A very telling statement .! Highlights the sheer lack of calibre at the highest levels of government.!! This is what happens when all the" isms " are used in promotions.! Save Malaysia by voting in a Pakatan government.!!