Malay group flays Najib over MRT tender awards

The Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM) has slammed Prime Minister Najib Razak on the issuing of MRT tenders, saying its  members were sidelined and unqualified contractors were awarded jobs.
“Of the (tenders for the) RM36 billion MRT project, we have got absolutely nothing.

“Those who have (received contracts) are instead outsiders.
"They have failed to deliver trains, but are given the MRT project,” chamber president Syed Ali Alattas (left) told a press conference after a roundtable forum in Kuala Lumpur today.

However, Syed Ali did not refer to any specific MRT tender and called on Najib to not repeat such behaviour in future.

“So, with all this, we ask the PM not to always indulge in all this funny business,” he said.

“Otherwise the future generations may get angry with the government,” Syed Ali added.
'Maintain equity in strategic GLCs' 

However, Syed Ali's statements differed from the that of the Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera (Teraju), which said 47 percent of the MRT project was offered to bumiputera contractors and that this was way above the initial target of 43 percent.

The DPMM president also called on Najib to ensure that the government would maintain its majority equity in government-linked firms involved in strategic industries such as public utilities.

Syed Ali  also wants the government to reclaim control of privatised GLCs that exhibit management problems.

"UDA (Urban Development Authority) is now under Khazanh as a corporate entity. It should have been made a government-controlled agency again," he said.

Syed Ali also pressed the government to offer GLCs in which direct public interest was not involved, such as Syarikat Penerbitan Negara (National Printing Company), to be taken over by DPMM entrepreneurs.