Company director, lawyer in solar hybrid project remanded
KUCHING: A company director, 59, and a lawyer, 30, have been placed on remand since yesterday to assist Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission ( MACC) in the probe of the controversial solar hybrid project for rural schools in Sarawak.
They were arrested by federal MACC officers at its Putrajaya headquarters on Tuesday after their statements were recorded. They were then brought to Putrajaya magistrate’s court the same morning.
An MACC spokesperson told reporters that Magistrate Shah Wira Abdul Halim had granted a six-day remand order to end July 2.
They are being investigated under Section 18 of the MACC Act, 2009, that criminalises the use of false receipts, accounts, or other documents with the intention to mislead.
They may face up to 20 years’ jail and a fine up to five times the value of the false claim, or RM10,000, whichever is the higher on conviction.
The RM1.25-billion project is meant for the supply of diesel, setting-up of solar hybrid systems, and maintaining generators at 369 rural schools in Sarawak .
Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd was awarded the contract in January last year.
According to whistleblower Sarawak Report, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had supposedly instructed that the contract be awarded to a politicallylinked company, hence bypassing the Education Ministry’s procurement procedures.
Payment was allegedly made although no work was done.
In response to the allegations, Jepak Holdings acknowledged that it was awarded the contract through direct negotiation, but denied any wrongdoing.
Among others, company managing director Saidi Abang Shamsuddin said the actual value of the project was only RM750 million, but that the company had yet to receive any payment in relation to the ongoing project.
Recently The Borneo Post quoted Saidi as confirming that the company was unable to send more fuel to the schools, claiming that the Ministry of Education had failed to pay over RM200 million in work done since December 2017.
“Although they did not pay (then), we still supplied,” he said when asked to comment on the latest episode of fuel shortage affecting schools in Sarawak.
He did not give any reasons for the withheld payment but sources said it was likely due to reports of dispute of alleged irregularities detected by the ministry between the claims and actual term of contracts, which had now been highlighted under the new Pakatan Harapan government.
Jepak Holdings was one of 31 contractors supplying diesel and maintaining generator sets for 14 schools under Baram 2 zone for 2015-2016 period as well as schools in Mukah and Dalat, but was awarded the contract to supply fuel to all 369 schools in Sarawak from 2017 onwards.