Promises not met

Promises not met
Submitted by shaza on Friday, November 11th, 2011


Opposition leader hits out at Selangor govt over failures
by Meena Lakshana

Friday, November 11th, 2011 10:46:00

SHAH ALAM: Selangor opposition leader Datuk Mohamad Satim Diman (pic) accused the State government yesterday of not fulfilling its promises to reform State administration, including its failure to uphold its open tender policy for government projects.

“Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had accused the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration of not being transparent, honest and responsible, handing out contracts to cronies, carrying out policies that are biased towards private companies and inefficiency at managing the State government’s expenditure,” he said in his debate on the Selangor Budget 2012.

“After three years and seven months of ruling the State, the talk has not matched the walk.”

Mohamad Satim claimed the four companies selected to helm the Klang River rehabilitation project — TSS-Mako Engineering Sdn Bhd, GJA Engineering and Construction, Wessex Water I-Bhd Consortium, and DPZ Asia — were chosen by Abdul Khalid without an open tender.

Furthermore, he said, although RM2 billion was allocated for the project, to be carried out in two to three years, and another RM2 billion for the cleaning and development of the river, the project had yet to be executed.

“Abdul Khalid also did not fulfill his pledge to abolish joint ventures and privatisation among State government linked companies (GLCs),” he said.

For example, the Selangor Development Corporation (PKNS) had signed a joint venture with Syarikat UAPE in a 30:70 per cent equity deal to develop the PKNS Science Park 1 on 9.06 ha in Kota Damansara.

Mohamad Satim also alleged PKNS had deviated from its purpose of providing affordable housing to poor people, saying the State subsidiary was more concerned about earning profits by pursuing mega projects.

“One such project is the proposal to redevelop the PKNS Sports Complex in Section 7, Kelana Jaya, into the Sports City, a sprawling mix-development project consisting of seven blocks of apartments, two blocks of office complexes and a block of business complex,” he said.

Describing PKNS as riddled by mismanagement, he said this was apparent in the fact that its general manager, Othman Omar, received RM1.4 million in combined wages and bonuses for 2009 and 2010.

“He received a five-month bonus amounting to RM22,000 in 2009 and a 17-month bonus amounting to RM280,000 in 2010,” he claimed, adding that Othman’s monthly wage was RM40,000.

Mohamed Satim said the monthly wage of the general manager under BN’s rule was only RM7,000 according to the pay scale of the Civil Service Department.

On the 2012 budget, Mohamad Satim said he doubted the Selangor government would be able to spend RM1.6 bilion without any additional allocations.

Open tender for Klang River project
THE four companies selected by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim for the Klang River rehabilitation project are research companies, not the contractors for the project.

Political Secretary to the Menteri Besar Faekah Husin said yesterday the companies — TSSMako Engineering Sdn Bhd, GJA Engineering and Construction, Wessex Water I-Bhd Consortium, and DPZ Asia — were appointed as research consultants for the project.

She said this when asked by reporters to comment on the allegations by state Spposition leader Datuk Mohamad Satim Diman that the Selangor government failed to deliver promised reforms to State administration and that the four companies had been selected by Abdul Khalid to carry out the project without calling an open tender.

“Basically, they (the four companies) present ideas to us on how to conduct the project,” Faekah said at the adjournment of yesterday's sitting.

“They also present us with architectural models of how the area would be like after the project is completed."

Faekah said the state government had yet to decide on the actual contractor to helm the project and gave an assurance the appointment would be conducted through open tender.

The Klang River rehabilitation project, involving 29.13 ha with a gross development value of RM2 billion, is an initiative under Selangor’s economic stimulus package, aimed at offering many opportunities including new commercial, tourism and property development ventures.

The project includes river cleaning, development of new sources of drinking water, environmental protection, flood mitigation, commercial, tourism and land development activities.

The entire project is expected to take 15 years and to attract some RM50 billion worth of investments.
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/86056-promises-not-met