Friday, July 03, 2015

Govt JVs: Win-win to some, Lose-lose to general public

It is either our MACC is not doing their job or unwilling to do their job. Everything which we, the ordinary public, can think of, which are likely to be corrupt deals are invariably corrupt deals. It is only because in the past, we didn't have the means (unlike today, with the real time information and the internet where it is almost impossible to cover up) nor the freedom to find and disclose such shenanigans. Even today, we are unable to disclose information without falling foul of the laws under OSA, BAFIA and the like.

A few days ago, we got to know about the PATRIOT vehicle registration scheme in which JPJ gets Rm1 million while the NGO gets many times more from selling the numbers from 1 to 9999. Just the favourite number PATRIOT 1 has been offered over Rm1 million, while there are many other favourites like 8, 88, 888 and 8888; remaining single digits; and so on. It is a no-brainer that whoever comes up with this brilliant idea stands to gain much from this special concession. Why is this relatively unknown NGO given this special privilege? Some people even complained about the demeaning of the word Patriot.

According to well known philanthropist Koon Yew Yin,

'Just as some Malaysians were thinking that the 1MDB and Mara Australian housing investment financial scandal would have ripple effects on the Government, we are now being given news of another scam in the making that is going to cost the rakyat billions of ringgit of lost potential revenue.

I am referring to the news that Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) is the hot favourite to refurbish the various sports facilities at the National Sports Complex (NSC) in Bukit Jalil, including the 17-year-old Bukit Jalil Stadium.

According to the latest news report, the refurbishment work could cost up to RM1bil and in return, MRCB would get parcels of land in the vicinity of the NSC for development if the proposal is approved. Apparently MRCB has submitted the proposal to the Youth and Sports Ministry and is awaiting the results.

The justification for the project is that the stadiums at the NSC are aging and have not seen much refurbishment since they were built in the 90’s for the Commonwealth Games.

Questions the Public Needs to Ask

Many questions come to mind.

The first is whether the stadiums are in such bad shape that they require renovation work to the tune of one billion ringgit!

Surely, these stadiums must have had regular maintenance budgets in the past and are in good shape. Would a new paint, re-carpeting, re-tiling, toilet upgrade, seating replacement job cost $200 million ringgit per stadium for each of the five stadiums?

I have been in the construction industry for the past sixty years and I can say with confidence that the cost of refurbishment is often a small fraction of what is claimed for by unscrupulous contractors.

To answer my question, I suggest that the NSC board of management and Ministry of Youth and Sports post in a special website photos and details of the repair or renovation work that is proposed to be done as well as an accounting of the amount required. The public (and potential contractors) can then view the project work to be undertaken and provide feedback. Not only will this ensure transparency and accountability for the renovation costs but it will also result in renovation that is of a higher standard and much lower cost!'

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