Thursday, December 10, 2009

malaysiakini and SEARCHING for RATS?......

malaysiakini has this interesting article PAC unable to smell a rat in double-tracking project Now if you know anything about rats, they are a hardy and very smart species.
The other night I saw a rat that was about half the size of a small cat scurrying in a drain in JB town.
Now that the PAC has given the RM1.14billion cost over-run the all clear report, it would be good to provide the exact details of the different items that actually caused the RM1.14billion cost escalation.
Both the companies Gamuda and MMC are main board companies of KLSE and one wonders how such established companies executed such a project without proper planning and control.
According to the report, the variation orders accounted for RM588million and this had not been paid by the government.
Who approved those VOs and why did the government not pay if it approved the VOs? What was the mechanism and procedure by which such VOs are approved if it is a BOT project?
If I remember correctly, this privatisation project was one of those BOT types where the contractor is required to do a turn-key operation and the government has no control over how they execute the project.
If that is the case, the share-holders of such companies enjoy all the benefits from such a project and they also suffer any losses.
Maybe the PAC was looking for the wrong species of animal for the blame?

photo: thanks to http://www.afpmb.org/pubs/Field_Guide/Images/originals/Fig.%20255.jpg

2 comments:

Josh said...

Hey bro, jangan salah faham. The "Rawang to Ipoh" double-tracking project was not awarded to Gamuda/MMC but to DRB-Hicom Bhd, UEM Construction and Japan's Mitsui which are embroiled in RM1.14 billion loss controversy. Read the Malaysiakini article again.

Gamuda/MMC was awarded the "Ipoh to Padang Besar" double tracking rail project. I think you shot the wrong guys!

H J Angus said...

josh
thanks for your reponse.
I read the Malaysian Insider and those were the 2 companies mentioned for the Rawang-Ipoh contract.
Looks like a slip-up somewhere.