[ad_1]
PETALING JAYA: Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong has challenged his predecessor, Loke Siew Fook, to repeat his accusations about the reasons for terminating the Klang Valley Double Tracking 2 (KVDT 2) contract outside Parliament.
Stating he has “nothing to fear,” Wee said he has sought legal action to clear his name.
“I will surely take legal action to clear my name. As a former Transport Minister, Loke is aware of the discrepancies surrounding this project.
“I advise you to speak with your conscience and stop being the spokesperson for the company,” he said in a statement.
Wee was responding to Loke, who today at Dewan Rakyat asked the Transport Minister to explain if the KVDT 2 contract was terminated after the contractor failed to comply with Wee’s request.
Loke was referring to claims made by Dhaya Maju-LTAT Sdn Bhd (DM-LTAT) in a supporting affidavit filed in Kuala Lumpur on October 27 in his lawsuit against the government, Wee and two others for terminating the contract.
Reading court documents about the affidavit at Dewan Rakyat, Loke said that on or about April 14, 2020, DM-LTAT had a meeting with Wee in which they were asked to outsource the entire project to a ‘Chinese company ‘.
“After the plaintiff refused, the meeting ended,” Loke said. Loke added that it was a serious accusation against the transport minister.
But Wee said the allegation that the double-track rail project was canceled after the contractor did not agree to subcondition the project to a “Chinese company” was “without foundation.”
Wee said that Loke may be “quite forgetful” as the latter on September 19, 2018, had informed Cabinet that the costs of the KVDT 2 project would be lower if it is carried out through an open tender.
“Did Loke also forget that KTMB, as a user of the railways, had written to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance to express their concern about having DM-LTAT as a contractor for the project?” He said, adding that Loke recognized it in Parliament. on July 9, 2019.
Wee further said that the decision to rescind the award letter to DM-LTAT had not yet been signed, but that the decision to rescind the contract was made by the Cabinet after due consideration.
“The Transport Ministry had listed the pros and cons of upholding the decision made by the Pakatan Harapan government and the completion of the award letter in the Cabinet Memorandum,” he said.
However, since the matter is pending in court, Wee said it would be inappropriate for him to discuss it in detail.
Wee said he had sought legal advice on the alleged disclosures to clear his name through the legal process without announcing it to the public, as this was to prevent the case from becoming politicized.
“However, I expected the company to go through different channels, including politicians, to sensationalize the matter.
“Therefore, I had informed the Cabinet on November 6, 2020 on this issue and the officer who was with me at the meeting with the company has presented a police report, to flatly deny the defamatory accusations made by the company,” he said. adding that his conscience was clear.
On the claim that the completion of the project would affect Bumiputera’s contractors, Wee said he would address it in Parliament when he is discharged from the hospital.
In its lawsuit, DM-LTAT had named the government as the first defendant, followed by Wee, Opus Consultants (M) Sdn Bhd and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd.
On November 6, the prime minister’s department minister, Takiyuddin Hassan, said the cabinet had agreed to seek an out-of-court settlement with DM-LTAT over three separate civil actions, including a request for a court order.
The proposed KVDT 2 spans 110 km and includes two KTM railways, one from Salak South to Seremban and the other from a point between Kuala Lumpur Sentral and Angkasapuri to Port Klang.
It was previously reported that the decision by the Transport Ministry to cancel the project award and reopen it for bidding followed the revelation by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz that the Pakatan Harapan government had awarded 101 projects through direct negotiation.
In 2017, the management of Barisan Nasional (BN) awarded the project to DM-LTAT but the contract was canceled after the change of government in 2018.
The Pakatan Harapan administration then reappointed DM-LTAT to continue the project after a reduction in its scope and costs.
