Pemilihan ADIK kepada Amin Shah Omar, Ariff Shah Omar Shah sebagai calon UMNO/BN untuk menentang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dalam pilihan raya kecil Permatang Pauh pada 26 Ogos depan adalah sangat tepat dengan citarasa UMNO/BN.
Sifat Ariff Shah paling sesuai mewakili UMNO yang dipenuhi oleh pembunuh (Altantuya), perogol, penyamun, perasuah, perompak, penzina dan penjenayah. TPM Najib Razak sangat gembira kerana adik kroninya yang terlibat dengan skandal RM6,750,000,000.00 peralatan Tentera .... PSC-Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd (PSC-NDSB), terpilih dan banyaklah RM dari kes rasuah ini boleh ditabur di Permatang Pauh. Polis, SPR, Imigresen dll sudah bersedia untuk menipu demi kemenangan UMNO/BN dan menafikan kerusi Anwar Ibrahim di Parlimen dan seterusnya menjadi PM ke 6 Malaysia. http://www.keadilanrakyat.org/index.php/content/view/275/1/ Najib Must Bear Brunt in RM6.75 billion in Naval Scandal While the nation is still reeling from the RM 4.6 billion PKFZ "Ghost Town" scandal, another mega bombshell hits the national screen – the RM 6.75 billion patrol vessel scandal. A RM 5.35 billion contract to build naval vessels awarded in the nineties that has been inflated to RM 6.75 billion is now teetering on failure, under circumstances that have exposed the utter incompetence and decadence of the Malaysian political leadership and administration. The 2006 Auditor General's Report, tabled in Parliament on Sept 7, has revealed astounding details that indicate dubious award of contract to an obviously unqualified contractor, failure of technical and financial management, hefty illegitimate contract price increases and overpayment, unjustifiable waiver of penalties, huge undocumented payments and complete failure of ministry oversight. The history of this mega scandal could be traced back to the nineties when a company owned by an UMNO stalwart Amin Shah Omar Shah was awarded a contract in Sept 98 to design and build six patrol vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy for the contract price of RM 5.35 billion. The company is PSC-Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd (PSC-NDSB), which is a subsidiary of Penang Shipbuilding & Construction Sdn Bhd, a company owned by Amin Shah. Contract breaches Under the terms of contract, the contractor is obligated to deliver the vessels in stages, starting from March 2004 and completing delivery in April 2007. However, PSC-NDSB could only deliver the first two vessels in mid 2006, and the remaining four are still remote from their final stages of construction, with their completion assessed at 19% to 56% at Dec 2006. And even the first two vessels delivered were hardly operational, as they were riddled with defects (298 recorded complaints) and were found to have 100 and 383 uncompleted items respectively. It is obvious that as far as contract performance is concerned, PSC-NDSB is a total disaster. Its failure is attributed to serious financial mismanagement and technical incompetence, the latter being apparent from its track record of only having built trawlers and small police boats in the past. However, instead of terminating the agreement and demanding for compensation as good governance would have so demanded, the government has done the exact opposite. The ministry of defence has not only kept the contractor but also made hefty overpayment, increased the contract price drastically and waived all penalties, all without any justification. The contract price was increased from RM 5.35 billion to RM 6.75 billion in Jan 2007, for which the auditor general could find no justification. Neither could he find valid ground for the generous payment of RM 4.26 billion to the contractor up to Dec 2006 when value of works done was only RM 2.87 billion - an overpayment of RM 1.39 billion or 48%. Further, there was no reason for the cabinet's decision in Nov 2006 to waive the imposition of penalty for late delivery amounting to no less than RM 214 million. The AG also noted the abnormally generous payment of RM 1.07 billion as deposit, which amounts to 20% of contract price, upon signing the agreement. Most alarmingly, the ministry of defence is found to have made huge payments to the contractor without supporting documents. Between Dec 1999 and Jan 2002, fourteen progress payments amounting to RM 943 million were made, for which no payment vouchers or relative documents were found. In spite of these enormous overpayment and contract price increases, the AG found the contractor in serious financial deficit and warned the government of further losses ahead due to contractor's weaknesses. The auditor general criticized the project steering committee – headed by defence minister cum deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak – for failing to provide the necessary oversight over the project. Government failure Reviewing the entire fiasco, one cannot escape the conclusion that this is a classical example of contemporary Malaysian mega failure that transcends the Mahathir/Abdullah era division. It demonstrates that the weaknesses of the Mahathir era have not only been carried over but have further been compounded with new weaknesses characteristic of Abdullah's leadership. In simple words, while Mahathirism is characterized by corruption and cronyism, Abdullah allows these characteristics to flourish and at the same time compounding them with his unique brand of hands-off leadership - indecision and indifference. Abdullah would let nature take its own course. Needless to say, such policy (or the lack thereof) would spell disaster on a mega project gone foul. Take the present patrol vessel scandal. No doubt Mahathir is faulted for having awarded such a huge and high-skill project without tender to an obviously incompetent crony – a glaring case of corruption and cronyism, but mind you, Abdullah was the leader who allowed the failed contractor to drag on and dubiously rewarded him with contract price escalation and overpayment, entailing all sorts of irregularities with criminal implications, causing the public to loose billions with no end in sight. Agreed that the real decision-maker in this case may not be Abdullah but Najib, but still as the Prime Minister, he must take responsibility for having failed to provide the kind of leadership that could have averted the deterioration of this disaster. In fact, I doubt whether the cabinet has been properly briefed or consulted, much less given meaningful deliberation over the relevant issues, in spite of their stupendous nature in monetary terms. I wouldn't be surprised if the cabinet is carrying on its traditional role inherited from the Mahathir era as largely a rubber stamp, busy-body over trivial issues such as Namawee's Negarakuku, but oblivious to massive haemorhage of public funds through such fiascos as this RM 6.75 billion patrol vessel contract or the RM 4.6 billion PKFZ "Ghost Town" project. Najib must take brunt There is no doubt that Najib must bear the brunt of the present disaster. As minister of defence and leader of the project steering committee monitoring and overseeing the progress of the project, he is responsible for major decisions and development relating to the contract. And he must now answer the following crucial questions: Why wasn't the contract promptly terminated when the contractor committed a major breach through its severe failure to deliver the vessels? Why was the contract price increased from RM 5.35 billion to RM 6.75 billion? Who authorized the increase? Why was the penalty for late delivery amounting to no less than RM 214 million waived? Who authorized the waiver? Why was the contractor overpaid by 48% by Dec 2006 – being paid RM 4.26 billion for works done valued at RM 2.87 billion? Who authorized the payment? Why were there no payment vouchers or other supporting documents relating to 14 progress payments amounting to RM 943 million made between Dec 1999 and Jan 2002? Unless Najib can provide satisfactory answers to the above question, he must resign forthwith. Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Agency should waste no further time in commencing earnest investigations into the many serious irregularities of this project, in particular, criminal collusions with the contractor and breach of trust by top government leaders and officials, including those relating to the award of this contract. People's Justice Party (KeADILan) ------------------------------------ Alternatif-Net : A Discussion Forum Focusing on Issues Related to Justice Forum Perbincangan Maya Yang Fokus Kepada Isu Keadilan Disclaimer: Messages sent do not represent the stand of the Barisan Alternatif (BA) unless otherwise stated Complaint : Send to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Sub : Send blank e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsub : Send blank e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alternatif-net/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alternatif-net/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
