Thesun 2009-07-24 Page02 Probe Centres On Inside Links

2

theSun

| FRIDAY JULY 24 2009

news without borders

1st tender called off in accordance with procedures: Official PETALING JAYA: The Tourism Ministry called off the first tender exercise for the construction of the Malaysian pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai in accordance with the provisions of the Treasury circular on government procurement procedures for open tender. The ministry’s secretary-general, Datuk Dr Ong Hong Peng, said in a letter to theSun that all the procedures and processes of an open tender system were adhered to at all times. “The first open tender exercise for this project was called on March 11 whereby nine companies submitted documents,” he said. “However, this tender was cancelled as the submissions did not reflect holistically the theme of Shanghai Expo 2010 – ‘Better City, Better Life’. “The cancellation was done in accordance with the provisions provided in the Treasury’s circular on government procurement procedures for open tender.” Ong said a new open tender was called on May 12 through advertisements in the newspapers. “In line with the open tender process, a briefing was made to the interested parties on May 13, which was attended by 35 companies,” he said. “Subsequently, 15 tender documents were sold. Tender submission closed on June 4, whereby 11 companies submitted documents with design models. However, only 10 companies fulfilled the required specifications.” Ong said the 10 tender documents were valuated by the technical and financial committee “which forms the basis for consideration and selection by the tender board of Tourism Malaysia”. “The tender board considered the eligible tenders meticulously in accordance with the financial procedures to ensure that the selected company provides optimal value for money, fulfils the technical requirements, has the necessary experience in undertaking such projects, and is registered with the Finance Ministry.” He said the contract was awarded to Venturepharm with three conditions – any variation order involving an increase in project cost is not allowed; the company shall incur the full cost of engaging a counterpart company to implement the project in China; and the government will not bear any additional cost or price increase over and above the tender price.

Probe centres on ‘inside links’ MACC MAY INTERVIEW GOVT OFFICIALS, UNSUCCESSFUL BIDDERS by Tim Leonard [email protected]

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is working on the possibility that senior government officials could have worked in “favour” of pharmaceutical company Venturepharm Asia Sdn Bhd to obtain lucrative deals from the government. An MACC senior investigator told theSun yesterday the probe is centred on “inside links” that could have allowed the company to receive a RM19.99 million contract to build the Malaysia pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, and a RM5.36 million bio-feed grant from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti). “We are looking at

various angles, including the possibility that government officials, perhaps one or two, could have worked in favour of the company,” the MACC official said. “But it is too early to arrive at any conclusion.” The official declined to reveal the number of government officials who may have been interviewed to assist in the investigation or if any files or documents have been seized from their offices. theSun learnt that the MACC is also planning to interview several unsuccessful bidders for the pavilion project. Venturepharm Asia’s name was first brought up in Parliament by Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong in June. He raised questions on how government contracts were awarded to the company. Venturepharm’s bio-feed grant has been temporarily put on hold by Mosti and payments have been frozen, pending completion of the MACC investigation. On Wednesday, Wee raised several more questions for the Tourism Ministry on the manner it awarded the pavilion contract.

“The approved design for the pavilion is based on Minangkabau architecture. This clearly is incoherent with Malaysian themes because anything reflecting Minangkabau originates from Indonesia,” Wee told theSun. “The ministry has to provide more concrete answers.” Wee also revealed the names of the other companies which took part in the first and second tenders. They are AMD Network Sdn Bhd, Ad Suria Sdn Bhd, Media Signs Sdn Bhd, Expo Jaya Sdn Bhd, Pico Integrated Exhibits Sdn Bhd, Qube Integrated Sdn Bhd, Wingspan Integrated (M) Sdn Bhd, AR Factor Resources Sdn Bhd, and WellAd Communications Sdn Bhd. Venturepharm and Kumpulan Jetson Bhd came in only during the second tender exercise. theSun first highlighted the controversial contract on Monday. Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the contract was awarded in an open and transparent manner and denied any political link.

‘Land deal’ probe still on, says Liow by Giam Say Khoon [email protected]

Najib’s birthday wish PRIME Mininister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak prepares to cut a birthday cake presented to him by Marriot Hotel in Putrajaya yesterday. Najib, who turned 56 yesterday, wished for a more prosperous and united Malaysia in line with the concept of 1Malaysia: People First Performance Now. He also wanted the people to feel they were appreciated for their contributions. Earlier, Najib attended the ministerial “Premier Leadership Challenges in the

Innovation Economy” seminar at the hotel, held in line with his vision and directive that Malaysia becomes an innovation economy. Those present included Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, cabinet ministers, mentris besar and chief ministers, and business leaders. The seminar was organised by the Prime Minister’s Office in collaboration with Universiti Tun Abdul Razak’s Centre for Executive Education and with the support of Bank Rakyat.

PUTRAJAYA: The Health MInistry’s secretary-general is investigating an alleged land deal involving former minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and his political secretary Datuk Tee Siew Kiong. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday he had read the report on the alleged land deal and had handed the matter over to secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Nasir Mohd Ashraf to investigate. “I am waiting for the investigation to be completed and I will need to find out from my secretary-general on the outcome,” he said. On March 20, mohlandscam.blogspot.com had posted an allegation against Chua and Tee for being involved in a deal when acquiring land in Johor Baru to build a health clinic in 2005. According to the blog, a company had made a profit of RM19 million in compensation for the land, which was meant for a private school. theSun learnt that a report had been lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Chua had responded on the allegation on March 23 through his blog (drchua9.blogspot.com), saying that he was aware an MACC report had been lodged against Tee by the MCA Integrity Watch Group. He explained that the ministry acquired many pieces of land and the sizes varied according to the types of health clinics to be constructed. “Acquisition of land by a government agency is often a complicated process where the minister and his staff are not involved,” he said. “In the case of the Health Ministry, often the process starts from the district health clinic, which makes the recommendation to the state, and finally to the ministry. “At the ministry, there is a land development committee, chaired by the secretary-general. If there is a need and there is budget allocated, then the committee will evaluate the status of the land. Valuation of the land is done by the Valuation Department.”

No action against poultry protesters, says minister by Husna Yusop [email protected] PUTRAJAYA: Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Noh Omar has expressed regret over the action by some 100 broiler chicken farmers in Kota Iskandar, Nusajaya, in dumping 4,000 chicks in protest on Wednesday. However, no action could be taken against them although it was clearly an act of cruelty and irresponsibility. “That is their right. We cannot take any action against them ... unless we have this law which the ministry is drafting

now, against this kind of (poultry) animal abuse,” he told reporters after attending the ministerial “Premier Leadership Challenges in the Innovation Economy” seminar here. “As of today, there is no law that we can use against them whether they want to dump the chicks or burn the chicks,” he said, adding that the ministry is formulating a new law to handle poultry animal abuse. He was commenting on the protest in front of a government building housing the Veterinary Services Department by farmers from various parts of Johor

angry over the unavailability of incentive schemes for farms that have more than 20,000 chicks. Noh said he had announced earlier the ministry was revising all methods of subsidy and incentive distribution for livestock breeders, farmers and fishermen to ensure everyone has a fair share. At the moment, the incentives were only available to small-scale chicken breeders producing fewer than 20,000 chicks at one time. He said those protesting were actually from big farms who also wanted a share in the government incentives.