MACC sweeps mega projects’ offices

PETALING JAYA: The anti-graft agency has seized various documents related to the Multi Product Pipeline (MPP), Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TGSP) and East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) mega projects that have been stalled by the Government.

More than 50 Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC) officers raided 13 locations in the Klang Valley in a day-long operation, which began at 10am yesterday.

MACC investigations director Datuk Simi Abd Ghani said the documents were seized to examine if there were elements of corruption.

“We will go through the documents first,” he said without elaborating.

On the volume of documents seized, Simi said some of his teams had yet to return to the headquarters as of 11pm.

On July 5, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced that the ministry issued suspension notices to Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER) and Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) on July 3 after receiving instructions from Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

SSER handles the two pipeline schemes, while MRL was mandated to handle the ECRL project.

The Finance Ministry also revealed a RM9.4bil scandal implicating both pipelines, with 88% of the project amount having been drawn despite only 13% of the work done.

Lim said the projects were hidden as “red files” with access only to a select few and away from the scrutiny of most Treasury officials.

Lim had said he was informed by his officers that SSER was an offshoot of SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.

SSER is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Finance Ministry set up on May 19, 2016, with the specific intent of undertaking the MPP and TSGP projects.

Both projects were approved by the previous administration on July 27, 2016.

On July 3, Lim also announced that the final cost of the ECRL was a staggering RM81bil and that the 688km rail project would only be continued once the cost was lowered to a financially viable level.

The Barisan Nasional government had said that the project would cost RM55bil.