KJ says open to being probed.
- Fingers pointed at contractor and JKR as responsible for defects
- Contractor appointed via direct tender
- KJ claims defects in government projects were “normal”
Former youth and sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin has urged the Public Works Department (JKR) and the contractor for the Mokhtar Dahari national football academy to take responsibility for the many defects found in the academy.
Yesterday, Khairy’s successor Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman had visited the RM85 million facility and found an empty gym, a leaky ceiling, defective hydrotherapy pools and classrooms void of tables and chairs.
When asked who ought to be responsible, Khairy pointed fingers at the contractor and JKR.
“We need to look to two parties – the contractor, and the agency that implemented the project, which was JKR,” he said when asked by the media after an event in Melawati, Selangor this morning.
During his time in office, Khairy said he had inspected the facility multiple times and had raised similar concerns as Syed Saddiq.
He questioned why such defects had yet to be resolved, and further queried why the present minister had not been alerted of these problems earlier.
“Many of the problems (Syed Saddiq) raised were the same as what I highlighted before this, what I want to know is why was this issue not brought to the minister’s attention in the past few months?
“And when I visited the academy, I had asked JKR and the contractor to fix these problems. But as we saw in yesterday’s report, many things have not been resolved yet,” Khairy added.
Contractor appointed via direct tender
When pressed, Khairy admitted that he had previously appointed the contractor in question through direct tender.
“The contractor was appointed (for phase two of the project) when I was the minister because they were the ones who built phase one, which was before my time and done through direct tender.
“So I also appointed them through direct tender as they were the contractors for phase one,” the Rembau MP answered.
Khairy added that defects in government projects were a “normal” occurrence, and said the project remained within the defect liability period.
“That’s why you have a defect liability period where the contractor comes in and if you notice any defects, they are supposed to correct the defects at no cost to the government,” he said.
‘Go ahead and investigate’
After the inspection yesterday, Syed Saddiq had vowed to lodge a MACC report to urge an investigation into the facility, Bernama reported.
Khairy said he was open to being probed.
“Go ahead, I am open in the matter.
“(As the minister) I was only responsible in getting funding to ensure the project was developed.
“If there had been any discrepancies or suspicions of leakages, this can be reported,” he said today.
The academy was launched back in 2014 by former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
It was opened for use earlier this year. – Malaysiakini