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Purchase of Ipoh City Council (MBI) Parking meters contravene the Ministry of Finance directive. Ipoh city Major (Datuk Bandar) should resign for lying   Media Statement by Ngeh Koo Ham (Ipoh, Tuesday): I thank Dato’ Chang Ko Youn the State Executive Member in charge of local governments for admitting that the Ipoh City Council (MBI) is in financial difficulty and that the rate payers in Ipoh are paying the highest assessment rate in the whole country at 16.0% of the annual rent (as reported in the press on 15/12/2003). He confirmed what DAP Perak has claimed and disproved the denial by the Datuk Bandar, Datuk Sirajuddin Salleh that the MBI was not in financial difficulty and that the people of Ipoh were not paying the highest assessment rates in the country. The Datuk Bandar had also said that the purchase of the parking meters was above board and had followed all the procedures. The Datuk Bandar should resign for lying to the public. Dato’ Chang Ko Youn however, failed to disclose one of the main reasons for MBI to be in such financial strait and the need for the people of Ipoh to pay the highest assessment rate. One of the main reasons is the mismanagement if MBI funds. I am disappointed that Dato’ Chang Ko Youn did not condemn the unscrupulous purchase of 200 parking meters at RM6,789,180-00  or at about RM34,000-00 each ! Datuk Bandar has admitted 87% of the collection from the parking meter goes toward the purchase of the parking meter ! The monthly total collection is about RM130,000-00 while the instalment payment per month for the 200 parking meters is RM113,153-00. I have received information that the purchase of the said parking meters were not approved by Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and Ministry of Finance (MOF). The said purchase was against the Ministry of Finance circular No. 7 of 2002. The said circular requires any Government department or agency importing goods in excess of RM50,000-00 to obtain the approval of MITI and any purchase of imported goods already in the country in excess of RM50,000-00 to obtain approval of the Ministry of Finance. The Ipoh public has the right to demand the whole truth, nothing but the truth. I call on Datuk Bandar and Datuk Chang Ko Youn to disclose to the public the actual financial position of MBI and also the whole process of the purchase of the said parking meters. (16/12/2003) * Ngeh Koo Ham, DAP Perak Chairman