Thesun 2009-08-11 Page01 Rm1b In Irregular Claims

œ Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)

300,000 COPIES DAILY 30 SEN for delivery to your doorstep

2009 AWARDS Award winning newspaper for excellence in investigative reporting

No. 4821 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Tuesday August 11, 2009

TELLING IT AS IT IS

Good show, Lenka

» Teoh inquest revisits building pg3

www.sun2surf.com

» Dozens feared trapped in mudslides pg12

News without borders

pg19

by Hemananthani Sivanandam [email protected]

PETALING JAYA: There have been seven more confirmed A(H1N1) influenza virus deaths, the latest an Indonesian maid from Seberang Jaya who died in Kulim Hospital yesterday, bringing the number of deaths to 33. The others are one on Sunday, three on Saturday and two on Wednes-

Seven more confirmed H1N1 deaths day. The cause of deaths of five due to A(H1N1) was confirmed only on Sunday. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said in a statement yesterday that four of the victims were in the “high risk” factor category. Yesterday, 203 new cases, all locally transmitted, were registered bringing the total cumulative figure reported in the country to 1,983.

The number of locally-transmitted cases has been on the rise since last week – 33 were reported last Friday; 53 on Saturday and 202 on Sunday. To date, 67 patients are still being treated in hospitals and another 15 are in intensive care. Out of that, six have high risks such as chronic diseases (three), obesity (one), post-delivery (one) and a baby (one). Ismail said it was vital for the public

to adhere to the guidelines set by the ministry and take precautionary steps to help stop the virus from spreading. “Those who have symptoms and are in the high risk category are urged to immediately seek treatment. Antiviral treatment will be given to these people without requiring confirmation from lab tests,” he said. He said the treatments were effective for patients if it was started within

48 hours after the onset of symptoms. He urged the public to look out for warning signs such as breathing difficulties, fever, continuous chest pain, cough with phlegm containing blood and diarrhoea. Those with mild flu symptoms should impose selfquarantine and to wear three-ply face masks if they venture out.

» More on H1N1 on Page 4

RM1b in ‘irregular’ claims by Giam Say Khoon

PKA TO LODGE POLICE REPORT AGAINST PKFZ CONTRACTOR

[email protected]

PUTRAJAYA: The Port Klang Authority (PKA) is lodging a police report today against the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) turnkey developer Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) over alleged irregularities totalling up to RM1 billion. PKA chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng is lodging the police report on behalf of the authority at 11am in the Klang police station. This follows the release yesterday of the PKFZ special task force report which identified discrepancies totalling between RM500 million and RM1 billion. “We (the board) received the report this morning and immediately agreed that a police report should be lodged against KDSB over the irregularities. We have also instructed our lawyers to study and consider legal action against KDSB and other relevant parties. “Our lawyers will henceforth deal with KDSB chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing and his deputy Datuk Faizal Abdullah,” he said after handing six volumes of the task force report to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat (pic). Lee said the board would meet again next week to go over the report in detail and decide further action, including possible action against

mismanagement by former PKA directors. In a statement, he said the PKA board met yesterday morning to deliberate on the special task force report to look into legal and financial aspects of PKA and PKFZ following the audit report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. “We have deliberated on the instances of possible serious irregular claims, negligence, wrongdoing and other irregularities identified as well as the issue of the unenforceability of certain agreements or parts thereof,” he said. The alleged irregularities include: Evidence to show KDSB had made irregular claims under the Development Agreement (DA), in particular, for the electrical infrastructure of the 33kv system worth RM55.8 million which had yet to be carried out on site, 33kv supply works and the

»

civil infrastructure to the main intake station works worth RM83 million as Tenaga Nasional Bhd had rejected the proposal for KDSB to undertake the works; For claims for preliminaries of at least RM231 million under the DA, KDSB has not provided any documents to support the cost incurred. KDSB also claimed for items which it is not contractually entitled to, for instance, the procurement of a performance

»

bond and insurance premiums, both totalling RM5 million; There appears to be no basis for KDSB’s claims for variation works of RM62 million under additional development works and new additional development works; Alleged over-claim for the hotel works, wherein KDSB had claimed RM69.9 million compared to quantity survey consortium QS4’s valuation of RM44.7 million; In respect of claims for professional fees under DA3, KDSB is entitled to only actual fee and expenses incurred. K D S B has not produced invoices and payment vouchers for RM121.6 million of the fees allegedly incurred; and

»

KAMARIDUAN MOHD NOR/THESUN

»

»

»

KDSB may not be entitled to an extra claim RM254.9 million under DA3 which fell under another part of the project. Lee said the board has also decided that the quantity surveyors in the task force continue to reassess the value of the works performed by KDSB to establish the real sum owed to the main developer. “They have already identified a difference of at least RM93 million between the claims made by KDSB and their measurements. We believe that there will be further differences in the re-measurement exercise,” said Lee. In June, the task force under the leadership of Skrine senior lawyer Vinayak Pradhan was formed together with a corporate governance committee and an executive committee to make recommendations to rectify problems in PKFZ. Ong, who has pushed for a full disclosure of the PKFZ fiasco, said: “I view with concern the various issues that have been identified by the special task force.” He said his instruction to PKA board is to do what is necessary and right in the exercise of its duties on the findings and recommendations of the report and if appropriate, the necessary legal action should be taken. » Comment: Nothing to rejoice Page 3