Walk the talk, TI-M tells federal govt
The federal government's promises of open tenders sound hollow when it continues to award contracts that lack transparency and accountability, says Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M).
"Cost overruns and defective performance persists with apparently no one, either the contractors or those awarding and monitoring it, being taken to task," said TI-M president Paul Low today.
"Lack of transparency and governance allows corruption and is a waste of public funds," said the head of the anti-corruption watchdog.
The sports betting licence, the new palace and ancillary works and mega land development projects such as the Matrade Expo, Sungei Besi air base and Sungai Buloh hub are examples where contracts were not issued by open tender, he said.
While the government declares it will implement TI's Integrity Pact, TI-M also urged the government to walk the talk on transparency, governance and integrity and at the minimum, implement open tenders for mega projects.
TI's Integrity Pact provides for privately enforceable contractual sanctions such as termination of contract, forfeiture of bid and performance bonds, damages to the authority and competitors as well as blacklisting, for corrupt practices and anti-competitive behaviour.
In March, the Port Klang Authority (PKA) undertook to abide by an integrity pact, requiring bidders for its contracts to sign an agreement against corruption-related activities in the procurement process, making it the first government agency to do so.
PKA had signed separate statutory declarations as part of the pact with six firms bidding for tenders for the Jalan Parang upgrading and the Port Klang Master Plan study projects being undertaken by the authority.
PKA chairman and MCA central committee member Lee Hwa Beng had said the pact was a commitment by both the authority and the companies not to stoop to activities linked to the payment, offering, demanding or accepting of bribes.
The signing came in the wake of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal that saw cost overruns from RM2.5bil up to RM4.6bil, and eventually hitting a possibly staggering RM12bil.
Kuala Dimensi, a company aligned with Bintulu BN MP Tiong King Sing, is embroiled in the multi-billion ringgit PKFZ scandal.
Low, who had resigned as MCA member not long ago, was the target of a defamation suit brought by Tiong in November over a report on corruption in Malaysia.
Low, who launched Transparency International Global Corruption Report 2009 about two months earlier, had said that the PKFZ scandal was a major issue of concern in Malaysia.
TI-M had earlier responded to the letter of demand from Tiong saying that the organisation was not sure how Low had defamed the Sarawak tycoon MP.
TI-M has since set up a legal defence fund with contributions from the public to pay for litigation costs and potential damages that may be awarded - Agencies.
"Cost overruns and defective performance persists with apparently no one, either the contractors or those awarding and monitoring it, being taken to task," said TI-M president Paul Low today.
"Lack of transparency and governance allows corruption and is a waste of public funds," said the head of the anti-corruption watchdog.
The sports betting licence, the new palace and ancillary works and mega land development projects such as the Matrade Expo, Sungei Besi air base and Sungai Buloh hub are examples where contracts were not issued by open tender, he said.
While the government declares it will implement TI's Integrity Pact, TI-M also urged the government to walk the talk on transparency, governance and integrity and at the minimum, implement open tenders for mega projects.
TI's Integrity Pact provides for privately enforceable contractual sanctions such as termination of contract, forfeiture of bid and performance bonds, damages to the authority and competitors as well as blacklisting, for corrupt practices and anti-competitive behaviour.
In March, the Port Klang Authority (PKA) undertook to abide by an integrity pact, requiring bidders for its contracts to sign an agreement against corruption-related activities in the procurement process, making it the first government agency to do so.
PKA had signed separate statutory declarations as part of the pact with six firms bidding for tenders for the Jalan Parang upgrading and the Port Klang Master Plan study projects being undertaken by the authority.
PKA chairman and MCA central committee member Lee Hwa Beng had said the pact was a commitment by both the authority and the companies not to stoop to activities linked to the payment, offering, demanding or accepting of bribes.
The signing came in the wake of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal that saw cost overruns from RM2.5bil up to RM4.6bil, and eventually hitting a possibly staggering RM12bil.
Kuala Dimensi, a company aligned with Bintulu BN MP Tiong King Sing, is embroiled in the multi-billion ringgit PKFZ scandal.
Low, who had resigned as MCA member not long ago, was the target of a defamation suit brought by Tiong in November over a report on corruption in Malaysia.
Low, who launched Transparency International Global Corruption Report 2009 about two months earlier, had said that the PKFZ scandal was a major issue of concern in Malaysia.
TI-M had earlier responded to the letter of demand from Tiong saying that the organisation was not sure how Low had defamed the Sarawak tycoon MP.
TI-M has since set up a legal defence fund with contributions from the public to pay for litigation costs and potential damages that may be awarded - Agencies.
