By Jahaziah Lim
CLUTTERING the newsfeed is a story that reeks of a familiar stench – of alleged corruption and scandal.
On Jan 4, reports showed that Prasarana Malaysia Bhd had withheld over RM700 mil in payments due to 17 contractors for the Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3) project. That very morning, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) raided the company premises, or simply “paid them a visit”, depending on who you choose to believe.
The week before, reports showed that Prasarana chairman Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman sought the termination of the contractors of Latitud 8 – a transport oriented development at the Dang Wangi light rail transit (LRT) station.
Almost half of the construction contract was awarded to Detik Utuh Sdn Bhd, of which the majority shareholders are Tajuddin’s family – his wife, daughter and son. The launch of the development was slated for the end of 2016, but it never happened.
Throughout this ordeal, Prasarana CEO Muhammad Nizam Alias was suspended due to “signs of insubordination”, according to the show-cause letters. Muhammad Nizam is said to have an icy relationship with the chairman, with allegations against Tajuddin on the award of contracts.
As a Malaysian, I would express surprise upon reading the news if I could. But alas, I can’t.
From the Sabah Water Department scandal in the east, to the Port Klang Free Zone case in the west, from 1MDB to Tabung Haji, every year there seems to be a hot new corruption scandal –like a new season of The Walking Dead.
But unlike The Walking Dead (an American post-apocalyptic horror television series), our corpses can sing and dance while bringing blight and wreaking havoc in the country. For the first act, Tajuddin pulled out the “Bumi card” and claimed that the Bumiputera contractors were not treated fairly by MRCB-George Kent Sdn Bhd (MRCBGK), the turnkey company for the project.
That card was proven ineffective when MRCBGK immediately pointed out in a letter response that about 40% of their contractors were Bumiputeras, 10% higher than the government-mandated quota.
Tajuddin then claims that the company has not channelled enough of their own money in the construction of the project, to which MRCBGK pointed out the RM200 mil of their own funds used to keep the project afloat.
In response to the allegations that funds were not released for the LRT3 project, Tajuddin said that they have paid up to RM3.486 bil as of October 2020. But like a dad that missed out on mortgage payments, MRCBGK had to” refresh Tajuddin’s memory” by pointing out that the fund was used to pay for developments up to June 2020, and not for work done July onwards.
On top of this, MRCBGK even pointed out that the project was certified almost half complete by an independent reviewer. If so, shouldn’t they be paid half of the RM11 bil set aside for this project?
If Prasarana says it has no money to pay the contractors at this stage, when the project has reached milestones for payment – then why is the chairman answering and not the chief financial officer (CFO)?
In fact, why does the CFO still have a job if he can’t even ensure timely payment of contractors?
In a separate scene, Tajuddin’s son Faizal came to defend his father, who seems to have trouble defending himself. With the available arguments already exhausted by his father, he turns his blame towards the Malaysian Government, of which his father is part of, saying that Prasarana lacks the funds to complete the Dang Wangi project and is seeking capital injection from the federal government.
The play has yet to end, and so the fools continue to sing and dance. However, the rakyat is not entertained. Billions of ringgits have been trickling out of the nation’s coffers into the hands of the few.
Without the official verdict, the Tajuddin family is neither guilty nor entirely innocent. But the truth remains that this entire case is a symptom for a larger problem plaguing the country – government-linked corporation (GLC) appointments.
While there are arguments for appointing politicians to these key positions, the downsides have obviously outweighed their usefulness. Nobody wishes to grow their business in a country where meritocracy does not seem to hold weight.
It is surprising that Malaysia currently holds less than 10% of the foreign direct investments within Southeast Asia, where the large chunk of it is lost to Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.
If our highway tolls, LRTs and rapid buses are treated as playthings for those with the rhetoric skills of a teenager, I shudder at the thought of other GLC appointments being held by more nefarious individuals, where more fundamental services are at stake. No need to shudder, because it has already happened numerous times.
Hopefully, this Tajuddin case does not merely serve as a bullet point in a long list of case studies against the corruption that is plaguing this country. It is time to pull the plug, take action, and close the curtains on this ridiculous play. – Jan 8, 2020
Jahaziah Lim is a writer and content creator from Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
