Thursday 2 August 2012

PKR wants RCI on George Kent's LRT award

PKR today demanded that a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) be set up to probe the award of the RM1.1 billion Ampang LRT extension project to the George Kent-Lion Pacific Consortium.

NONEParty strategy director Rafizi Ramli said the RCI was necessary because Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has refused to answer to allegations that he interfered in the bidding process for the project in favour of his "close associate", nor has he denied them. 

Rafizi added that the matter was compounded by him being charged under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1986 (Bafia) yesterday for an unrelated matter.

He explained was this was because of the timing of his charge - just 24 hours after the award was announced - suggests that he was persecuted for making the allegation against Najib. 

If this is true, Rafizi said it could mean that the prime minister had abused government institutions such as the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Bank Negara and the police. 

"(Former Lord President) Salleh Abas had faced charges a lot less than this in 1988. Charges against Najib are severe and has huge repercussions which would warrant at least an RCI," he said. 

He said that the involvement of Thales, the French company who according to French investigators had allegedly purchased secret Royal Malaysian Navy documents to aid the Scorpene submarine deal, also adds to the gravity of the issue.
"This alludes to an involvement of the country's top leader in an act of treachery," he said.

'Don't just take an oath in mosque'

Thales was named in the tender evaluation report for the LRT project as being part of the George Kent consortium.
According to a copy of an except of the report by engineering consultant Halcrow distributed to the press by Rafizi earlier, the George Kent-Wijet-Thales consortium had scored poorly in the technical evaluation. 

However, Halcrow in the report noted that it was “instructed” by project owner Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (Prasarana) to allowthe George Kent consortium to go to the next stage of evaluation. 

Prasarana on Tuesday announced that the Ampang LRT extension project was awarded to the George Kent-Lion Pacific joint venture.

"The best way to clear doubts is not to take an oath in a mosque but to appoint independent investigators. The documents clearly show the PM's own signature," Rafizi said.

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