Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong should resign for failing to prove his claim against DAP Secretary-General and former Transport Minister Anthony Loke that PH’s reduction in the cost of the Klang Valley Double Tracking (Phase 2) (KVDT2) project by RM725 million from RM5.2 billon to RM4,475 million still made the project over-priced. Wee had re-opened the tender for the project because he claimed that PH’s price tag of RM4,475 million was too expensive.
However, in a written parliamentary reply from Wee to Anthony Loke on August 3, Wee vindicated the previous Pakatan Harapan administration price-tag of RM4,475 million by continuing with the KVDT 2 project at the same cost of RM4.475 billion with the same contractor, Dhaya Maju LTAT Sdn Bhd. The contractor was issued a letter of award on July 29.
Loke is correct that Wee lied when Wee had attacked the PH government that despite a RM 725 million reduction from the BN’s government’s price tag of RM 5.2 billion, the PH government’s new price-tag of RM4,475 million was over-priced and too expensive. The BN administration had awarded the KVDT2 project to Dhaya Maju LTAT Sdn Bhd at the price of RM5.2 billion on 5 April 2018, one day before then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak dissolved Parliament to hold the 14th General Election. Former MCA President Liow Tiong Lai was the then Transport Minister.
The new PH government had to stick to the agreement between the BN federal government and the contractor as a letter of award was already issued. In the event the letter of award is terminated, the government may need to pay up to RM3 billion in compensation.
The PH Finance Ministry agreed with Anthony Loke and after direct negotiations managed to bring down the price tag to RM4.475 billion from RM5.2 billion. When Wee tried to issue a new open tender, DM-LTAT, a joint-venture between Dhaya Maju Infrastructure (Asia) Sdn Bhd and the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT), sued the government. The Transport Ministry then made a U-turn to back down and agreed to allow the same contractor to continue at the same price-tag of RM4,475 million negotiated by the PH government.
There is no sense of remorse or explanation by Wee about his initial false claims and lies that the new price tag of RM4,475 million was still too expensive despite the RM 725 million reduction. Public interests and transparency demand a full accounting for such a big project involving billions of ringgit. Wee’s failure to reply to Anthony Loke’s statement on 8 August demonstrate Wee’s irresponsible, incompetent and unprofessional conduct that is unfit for a person to hold a high public position of a Minister.
LIM GUAN ENG