Urda initiative good, but ‘reeks of cronyism’ — Chong
KUCHING: DAP Sarawak welcomes the initiative of Upper Rajang Development Agency ( Urda) to bring road and water development into the state constituencies of Ngemah, Machan, Pelagus, Katibas, Bukit Goram, Baleh, Belaga and Murum.
However, its chairman Chong Chieng Jen is of the opinion that the way Urda proposed to implement the said projects reeked of “serious cronyism and improper practice.”
“The total projects consist of 20 packages of road construction projects with a total estimated value of RM1,181 million; one package of bridge project with an estimated value of RM14 million; and 15 packages of water supply projects with a total estimated value of RM277 million.
“Despite the enormity of the projects, I was informed that Urda intends to only appoint three consultants for the construction of the road and bridge projects, and one consultant for the water supply project,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Chong called on Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing, who is also Urda chairman, to provide a satisfactory explanation on whether it is true that Urda intends to appoint only three consultants for the 21 packages of construction of road and bridge projects and only one consultant for the 15 packages of water supply project.
He also queried who are the “super lucky ones” who have been given such preferential treatment by Urda, and how and why were they chosen.
“There are more than 50 sizeable civi l engineering consultancy fi rms in Sarawak who are now in severe shortage of jobs due to economic slowdown.
“Why can’ t the state government equitably distribute the works to more of these Sarawakian firms, instead of giving only to a few chosen ones?” he questioned, while urging the Sarawak government “not to revert to the old days of cronyism”.
Chong, who is also Pakatan Harapan Sarawak chairman, added that the policy of “one or two persons take all” not only casts doubt on the integrity of Urda, but also on its chairman and the whole of the Sarawak government.
“This is the New Malaysia with the new government. Although the state of Sarawak is still governed by the same old Barisan Nasional ( BN) regime under the guise of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), the federal government now has a different standard in which government projects procurement is a more transparent process, and the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission ( MACC) having a higher standard of clean governance.
“As such, (Tan Sri) James Masing, as the chairman of Urda, must ensure that all state government projects implemented transparently and fairly, including the appointment of consultants,” he said.
Urda, which falls under the Regional Corridor Development Authority ( Recoda), was set up last year covering 41,000 sq km of the upper Rajang areas of Kapit, Bukit Mabong, Belaga, Song and Kanowit.
It covers three parliamentary constituencies – Hulu Rajang, Kapit and Kanowit, as well as seven state constituencies namely Ngemah, Katibas, Bukit Goram, Pelagus, Baleh, Belaga and Murum.
When contacted yesterday, Masing said he will issue a statement likely today (Sept 24). He was recently quoted in The Borneo Post expressing his gratitude to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg for approving RM1.472 billion worth of development projects under Urda.