KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 – Public Accounts Committee (PAC) deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw confirmed today that the double-tracking project was a priority and the committee would be visiting the site soon for a thorough investigation.
The Kepong MP explained that the PAC was very unhappy with the project and will seek an explanation from Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB).
“We were promised electric trains but we got second hand diesel trains. It is unacceptable when Japan and China has bullet trains. It shows the backward mentality.
“We want to visit and ask KTM to explain what happened so we can enhance the effectiveness of implementation,” he told reporters in Parliament here.
He added that the Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang had attended the PAC meeting today .
Tan revealed that the PAC will soon set a date for double-tracking site visits and also will plan a timeline for the investigation into the project.
He confirmed that the PAC will call for an explanation from the relevant authorities after the site inspections.
“We want to know why there are delays. When there are delays, the cost goes up. It is unacceptable,” he said.
Umno lawmakers have also asked the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the minister’s role in the double-tracking project.
The MPs were not happy that diesel trains purchased were out of commission and did not follow the standards and specifications of KTMB.
PAC recently announced that it was planning to investigate the RM6 billion double-tracking project, after recent revelations that the project has been managed poorly, resulting in losses amounting to more than RM1 billion so far.
According to this year’s audit report, the government may have to bear part of the RM1.14 billion loss in the 179km double-tracking rail contract between Rawang and Ipoh as the project was poorly managed.
The Rawang to Ipoh (southern) double-tracking and electrification project was completed in 2008 while the Ipoh to Padang Besar portion was proposed in 2002 as a continuation of the existing tracks.
In 2003, former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the government had decided to postpone the project, which drew heavy criticism from his predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
However, the project was revived when then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the Cabinet Committee on Public Transport had decided to revive the shelved northern section double-tracking project in 2007.
The Rawang to Ipoh (southern) double-tracking and electrification project was completed in 2008 while the Ipoh to Padang Besar portion was proposed in 2002 as a continuation of the existing tracks.
The project was awarded to Gamuda Berhad and MMC Corporation Berhad.
The major stakeholders of Gamuda and MMC are Raja Datuk Seri Eleena Sultan Azlan Shah and Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary respectively.
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Before the story goes that we bought jet fighters from the scrapyard and refurbished to make them airworthy. We were lucky because we were not at war where we have to use the planes. We only do flypast and training exercises where the aircrafts were not tested to the limits. Now we also bought trains from the scrapyard. No wonder scrapyard business is very lucrative in Malaysia as we love antiques very much and will furbish them to look new.