Tengku Zafrul: RM6.61bil worth of projects given the green light via direct negotiations under Pakatan govt.

Tengku Zafrul: Schemes worth RM6bil approved under Pakatan govt

PETALING JAYA: A total of 101 projects worth RM6.61bil were approved through direct negotiations under the Pakatan Harapan administration, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat.

He said direct negotiations were allowed under certain conditions with approval from the Finance Ministry, among which was that there was only one source for the required supply or that the project could not be delayed without causing damage to the country.

Tengku Zafrul’s revelation caused several Barisan Nasional as well Perikatan Nasional lawmakers to demand the list of the projects to be released.

This prompted former finance minister Lim Guan Eng to stand up and say that he welcomed the move to release the list, including the projects done through open tender.

“As mentioned by the minister, it is subject to all the conditions. We have nothing to hide,” he said, adding that the projects had received approval from the Cabinet and had met all the criteria.

A shouting match between both divides ensued before Senior Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, who was also a minister during the Pakatan administration, interjected and said the list was not presented to the Cabinet.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said Pakatan had pledged to practise open tender, which was included in its election manifesto.

“What has happened? Hasn’t Lim always said that Pakatan will only award (through) open tenders?

“This is something shocking for all Malaysians,” he wrote on Facebook, adding that if the Cabinet had not approved for the tender via direct negotiations, who would have the power to offer such tenders?

On the expansion of the Penang International Airport, Dr Wee said he had met Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to discuss and exchange views on the project after a National Physical Planning Council meeting on Aug 13, as well as in the Parliament lobby on Aug 17.

“In fact, I will have a special meeting with the Chief Minister to discuss public transport issues,” he said, adding that Lim had forgotten that he was no longer chief minister.

On Sunday, Lim’s role in the expansion plans had come under question when Dr Wee said the DAP secretary-general told DAP news portal Roketkini that he approved the allocation in Budget 2020 himself.

“I have searched for this in the thick Budget 2020 book (but) there is not one single detail about the RM800mil allocation under the Transport Ministry or any other ministries to upgrade the airport this year,” he said in another Facebook post.

Dr Wee said he had checked with Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB) and its management confirmed that there was no such allocation when Lim was finance minister.

“MAHB has been planning for a long time to use its reserves to cover its costs based on the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) concept,” he said.

He denied Lim’s accusation that cancelling the upgrading works for the airport was a form of “political vengeance” by Perikatan.

“In my reply in Dewan Rakyat on Aug 18, I stated that all proposals to build and upgrade airports must be postponed due to the Covid19 pandemic, which has affected the aviation industry.

“In the meantime, the Transport Ministry will implement the National Airport Strategic Plan in all 42 existing airports,” he said, adding that there was no way the ministry and Perikatan would hold a political grudge against every state that has airports.

Dr Wee said since the movement control order was implemented, MAHB had suffered losses, spending over RM1bil to cover operational costs of airports.

“Doesn’t MAHB reserve the right to make its own budget for the company and to have the right priorities during this challenging post-Covid-19 period?” he asked.

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the project to expand the airport’s capacity from 6.5 million passengers a year to 12 million was approved by the Barisan administration in 2017 and that MAHB was instructed to start construction in 2018.

“However, after Pakatan won the 14th General Election, the project was stopped with the excuse that the government was bankrupt and had no money to fund the costs,” he claimed on Facebook on Sunday.

He also said a private finance initiative was then done to fund the project although MAHB, with cash reserves of over RM2bil as of the end of 2018, could cover the costs.