[ad_1]
PETALING JAYA: Prasarana Malaysia Bhd will present a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Malaysian Companies Commission (SSM) on the Makkah metro railway project in Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, it said this came after its audit and forensic investigations into its involvement in the maintenance and operation of the Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Makkah Metro Southern Line (MMMSL) project from 2015 to 2018.
“On April 16, 2015, Prasarana, through its subsidiary Prasarana Integrated Management and Engineering Services Sdn Bhd (PRIME), obtained a three-year contract to operate and maintain the line, replacing the China Railway Construction Consortium.
“The project caused Prasarana to incur audited losses of 417 million Saudi riyals (about 450.8 million RMB) for the financial year ended December 31, 2019,” it said.
Prasarana President Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said the board of directors had been briefed by the audit risk committee on the matter, adding that the company remained committed to the practice of good governance, transparency and accountability.
“There are reasons for Prasarana to bring this matter to the authorities so that the proper investigations are carried out and the corresponding legal actions are initiated,” he said.
Prasarana said the decision to submit the report came after an 18-month audit and investigation, including an audit review by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which reviewed the pre-bid and post-tender award process for the project.
He also reviewed the overall execution of the company’s contractual obligations, the execution of maintenance, repair, and overhaul issues related to spare parts in the project, and the involvement of its then officers and board members, Rapid Rail Sdn. Bhd and PRIME.
Tajuddin said his internal investigation was challenging as many key officials involved had left Prasarana, PRIME or Rapid Rail, while investigators had to review many documents transferred from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia.
“Moving forward, a board investment committee has been established to investigate Prasarana’s major investments and business projects,” he said.
In 2015, Prasarana managed to secure the three-year contract worth RM911 million to manage and operate the MMMSL train.
After the project was found to have caused losses to the company from one year to the next, Prasarana launched an internal audit of the project once the contract was concluded in 2018.
In July 2017, then-Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli had said that Prasarana was recording massive financial losses from operating and maintaining the line. He had estimated that the company would lose up to RM142 million from 2015 to May 2018.
