MACC scrutinising Ampang LRT contract for possible abuse
(The Malaysian Insider) – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has started investigations at Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (SPNB) over the award of a RM960million contract for the Ampang Light Rail Transit (LRT) extension project.
PKR had earlier today demanded the prime minister be investigated for alleged criminal breach of trust and abuse of power in the award of the LRT project.
The party’s chief strategist, Rafizi Ramli, told reporters today that he possessed “solid, documentary proof” that Datuk Seri Najib Razak intervened in the awarding of the contract, and has lodged a police report against the PM.
SPNB media manager Azhar Ghazali confirmed with The Malaysian Insider that MACC officers were currently in its main office “investigating” Rafizi’s claims, but denied that it was a raid.
Azhar said that MACC officers were already permanently placed inside SPNB’s headquarters, ever since it signed an integrity pact with the commission back in March.
“MACC has already established an office in Prasarana. The word ‘raided’ seems too harsh because they already have key executives here since two months ago, so it is not really a raid.
“It is just that today a few more (officers) came in to help them investigate claims made by Rafizi,” he said.
PKR has previously questioned a Business Times report that a George Kent Bhd joint-venture could win a RM960 million contract for the Ampang LRT extension project, saying the consortium had been knocked out in the bidding process.
Rafizi had said on June 22 he “can expose that George Kent is not the consortium who was chosen in Prasarana’s open tender process” despite the speculation in the business daily.
The Malaysian Insider reported this morning that 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 The Malaysian Insider 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 not have complied with all conditions.
PKR officials have shown copies of official documents to the press, showing that the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) Acquisition Committee, which met this January 25, had decided to award the contract to Balfour Bratty Invensys Consortium. The committee is the highest decision-making body in the MoF and is chaired by Najib himself, who is also finance minister.
“Their (MACC’s) case today is a fact-finding mission with regards to claims made by Rafizi,” Azhar stressed.
