6 theSun | FRIDAY OCTOBER 30 2009

news without borders

Husna Yusop, Giam Say Khoon and Hemananthani Sivanandam at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday

PAC turns attention to double track project

FOLLOWING its inquiry into the
Port Klang Free Zone scandal, the
Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
will now shift its attention to the
double tracking project, highlighted
for suffering RM1.14 billion losses
in the Auditor-General’s Report for
2008.
PAC chairman Datuk Seri Azmi
Khalid said the committee will meet
on Wednesday to discuss which is-
sues highlighted in the report will
be looked into.
He said the committee had been
briefed by Auditor-General Tan Sri
Ambrin Buang on the report.
“The Transport Ministry’s con-
tractors would be among the first
few to be called up for the project
as it has RM1.143 billion of cost
overruns and we do not know
the reasons behind it. So we want
some explanation from the people
involved,” he told reporters at the
Parliament lobby.
“We will also call the contractors,
some of whom who belong to several
government-linked companies.”
Azmi said the report seemed to
reveal the same types of problems
every year.
“If you compare between last
year’s audit report and this year’s au-
dit report, there are not many changes
although there are a lot of things the
government is trying to clear but the
same problems arise. So, there are
basic problems that need to be ad-
dressed.”
However, Azmi said the committee
will not be looking into issues or per-
sons who are under the investigation
by the police or the Malaysian Anti-
Corruption Commission (MACC).
“We will allow them (the police
and MACC ) to go first because I do
not think we would want to duplicate
their work, but we will look into areas
that we should see,” he said.
It was reported that an audit of the
project carried out from August 2008 to
January 2009 identified several weak-
nesses in its implementation such as
the delay, and the procurement of
extra equipment and coaches not in
keeping with the specifications, thus
causing the infrastructure to be not
fully optimised.
“As the project was not properly
managed, it did not meet the objective
of its implementation,” the Auditor
General’s Report 2008 said.
The report said the Transport
Ministry should have taken firm
action against project manager Sya-
rikat Kinta SamuderaOpus Consor-
tium for allegedly not reporting its
dismal performance to the Finance
Ministry so that its services could be
terminated.
Azmi also disclosed that the Port
Klang Free Zone report is being print-
ed and the committee hopes to table it
to the Parliament on Wednesday.
However, he had refused to dis-
close the content of the report.

MP calls on Ong, Koh to quit cabinet

A BACKBENCHER has asked
We have a MCA president Datuk Seri Ong
Tee Keat and Gerakan president
dignified PM, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon to quit
the ministers, their ministerial posts as they are
too, must no longer wanted by the people.
have dignity. Datuk Mohamad Aziz
You should (BN-Sri Gading) said if the
two ministers have pride and
know where honour, they should willingly
you stand. relinquish their posts as there
Why stay are other party members quali-
when your fied to take over their places.
“Please quit. Don’t create
leadership is trouble for the prime minister.
ineffective? You no longer have the trust of
You don’t party members. I am saying this
have the in the interest of the rakyat. Not
people’s trust. a small group, but the majority
of them,” he said when debat-
Get out.” ing the Supply Bill 2009.
“We have a dignified PM, the
– Sri Gading MP ministers, too, must have dig-
Datuk Mohamad nity. You should know where
Aziz you stand. Why stay when your
leadership is ineffective? You
don’t have the people’s trust.
Get out.”
Datuk Bung Moktar
Radin (BN-Kinabatangan)
interjected and asked whether
Ong, who is the transport
minister, was lying when he
declared previously that if the
motion against his leadership
was passed at the party EGM,
he would quit.
Mohamad agreed with
Bung Moktar and said Koh, a
minister in the Prime Minister’s
Department tasked to monitor
the implementation of the Key
Performance Indicators, is him-
self “someone with no KPI.”
Mohamad advised the other
ministers to do their jobs well
and not become arrogant, say-
ing that “as an experienced
old-timer” he need not mince
his words.
He also criticised the proposal
for cars aged 15 years or more to
go through mandatory annual
inspection at Puspakom.
“This policy will chase
away two million BN voters.
This policy will destroy BN. My
uncles in the villages want old
cars because they are cheap,
they can pay cash. This is a
crazy policy.
“I am fighting for the kam-
pung folk who use 15- (and)
20-year-old cars only to go to
the mosques and stalls. If we
ask these people to go to Puspa-
kom, BN will be smashed. Don’t
make this an anti-BN policy.”
Mohamad also touched on
Umno and PAS relations, say-
ing the two parties must make
truce as their members are all
of the same religion and race.
He said PAS should “clique”
with Umno instead of Parti
Keadilan Rakyat and DAP.
On another point, he said
Kuala Lumpur has too many
foreigners, making the people
feel unsafe as “some of them
tend to create trouble”.
He said the enforcement
authorities should play their
role accordingly.

Khalid hails probe on Selangor PAS

SHAH ALAM MP Khalid Samad welcomed the decision by the
PAS central committee (CC) members on Wednesday night
to direct the disciplinary committee to investigate allegations
against Selangor PAS.
This showed the issue is being addressed and not swept under
the carpet, he told reporters at the Parliament lobby. Khalid said he
did not attend the meeting but was “informed” of the decision.
The CC members unanimously decided not to call for a special
extraordinary general meeting, as demanded by spiritual leader
Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat to weed out “problematic” leaders
seen to favour working with Umno.
Another decision made at the meeting was to hold a political
seminar to discuss the issues raised by Nik Aziz.

‘Bank chose its own directors’

Chokehold ... Perak DAP chief Datuk Ngeh
Koo Ham uses Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran to
demonstrate how former Perak speaker V. Sivakumar
was “nearly strangled” at the state assembly parking
lot on Wednesday after police allegedly tried to take
Sivakumar’s robe and songkok from him.
BANK NEGARA Malaysia did not have a hand in choosing
the new board of directors for Maybank Bhd but it was the
bank itself which made the appointments.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein
said the bank applied its corporate governance through a
nomination committee which made its deliberations and
suggested a major revamp.
“It was understood that almost all of them in the previous
board had been there for too long. So, there was a need for
a major reshuffle to prepare the bank for current and future
challenges since it plans to be more active overseas,” he told
Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena).
“The same procedure could be done by other banks if
they follow the corporate governance process and have
their own nomination committees.”

DPM wants more views on single-stream system

KOTA TINGGI: Deputy Prime Minister
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin expressed sup-
port for the proposal for a single-stream
education system but wants all parties to
pursue discussions on the matter so that
all views can be explored.
Muhyiddin, who is education minis-
ter, said that although he agreed with
the single-stream arrangement, which
he said was in line with the 1Malaysia
vision, the country’s education system
had taken the path of a multiple-stream
system.
“A single-stream system has been the
ultimate objective of the Razak Report
but due to circumstances in the country’s
history, we now have a multiple-stream
system.
“This is a huge issue and it is better
that we discuss it extensively so that
we can have a clearer picture, including
from politicians and the people,” he told
reporters after the presentation of the
national-level Ilham Desa Awards 2009 in
Kampung Mawai Baru yesterday.
He was asked to comment on the
issue which was raised recently by
academician and historian Tan Sri Prof
Emeritus Dr Khoo Kay Kim.
Several government and opposition
members of parliament spoke in support
of a single-stream system in the Dewan
Rakyat on Wednesday.
Muhyiddin said he would not object
it if non-governmental organisations
wanted to discuss the issue.
“We want to listen to the views
of all, not just from one side,” he said.
– Bernama