George Kent mum over LRT tender
Its chairman Tan Kay Hock claims that the Ampang Line LRT extension tender is still under evaluation.
Patrick Lee, FMT
PUCHONG: George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd, the supposed winner of the Ampang Line LRT extension tender, is tight-lipped about the allegedly government-awarded contract.
Its chairman, Tan Kay Hock, refused to comment on the matter, saying that the tender was still being considered by the government.
“Well, it’s still under evaluation, so I don’t want to make any comment… No, no. It has not been awarded. So, let’s wait for that.
“Let’s wait for the government to award this. It may come to us, it may not come to us,” he told reporters at the George Kent Technology Centre after the company’s annual general meeting.
This was despite a recent exposé by PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli, who produced various documents showing the company allegedly being given a RM1.2 billion tender for the project.
According to a previous FMT report, an official letter dated June 25 stated that the contract had been awarded to the George Kent-Lion Pacific joint venture consortium on June 21.
It was supposedly signed by the Treasury’s Procurement Committee (JPMK) under secretary Fauziah Yaacob and was addressed to LRT developer Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd’s (SPNB) group managing director Shahril Mokhtar.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would not “deny nor confirm” if the contract was given to George Kent, saying that there no irregularities were involved.
According to recent documents by PKR, the company was not considered to have passed the tender test, and was not experienced in building rail projects.
Its largest project to date, was supposedly a RM40 million contract.
Rafizi also alleged that George Kent’s top bosses were chummy with Najib, adding that they were “golf buddies” with the premier.
Today, Tan vehemently denied that his company had anything to do with a “tussle” in the decision-making process, and implied that he did not have political links.
“What political [links]? We’re a business group. So don’t talk about politics. I’m not a politician.”
Tan added, however, that if George Kent received the contract, his company would declare so, saying: “Once the government has awarded, we will make a statement.”
According to the company’s 2012 annual report, George Kent has been involved in various water projects.
Its first non-water-related project was a Kuala Lipis Hospital extension project in Pahang.
It added that it was diversifying its business outlook.
“George Kent Group is also expanding on its resources and building its capabilities to expand its construction activities into the transport/rail and green tech sectors that are the most vibrant sectors in line with the Economic Transformation Programs of the Malaysian government,” the report read.
