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KUALA LUMPUR: The Minister of Housing and Local Government, Zuraida Kamaruddin, did not participate in the Taman Beringin solid waste project, her political secretary said today.
Nor did Hizwan Ahmad add that it was former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng who negotiated the project with the contractor, Bumi Segar Indah Sdn Bhd.
He was referring to one of the direct agreements granted by the previous administration of Pakatan Harapan.
“Lim is misrepresenting the facts to tarnish Zuraida’s political image,” he said.
According to Hizwan, phase one of the solid waste project had started when Barisan Nasional (BN) was in power.
“Zuraida was not the minister at the time,” he told reporters today at a press conference.
Hizwan said that after Pakatan Harapan (PH) took over the government, the project was suspended because PH did not want to continue any direct deal projects unless necessary.
“On August 21, 2018, the Ministry of Finance ordered the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to submit a new application for the solid waste project without the knowledge of the minister.
“Then, on November 21, 2018, the secretary general of the ministry of housing and local government received a letter from Bumi Segar Indah Sdn Bhd, informing him that the company had discussed the project with Lim,” he said.
“So it was Lim who had conversations with the contractor about the project, not Zuraida.”
Earlier, Zuraida said that the RM170.3 million Taman Beringin solid waste project was approved by the Ministry of Finance through a letter dated February 20, 2019, addressed to the secretary general of his ministry.
Zuraida said that Bumi Segar Indah had a meeting with Lim on November 28, 2018 during which Lim discussed renegotiating the project and agreed to reduce the cost of the tip fee, supposedly to save the government money.
He said Lim advised Bumi Segar Indah to approach his ministry to present the details of the renegotiation and follow up with a formal proposal.
Zuraida said she was also willing to hand over documents on two directly negotiated projects involving her ministry to authorities if there is an investigation.
