Prasarana chairman: MRCBGK must follow national policies and support Bumi firms

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Prasarana Malaysia Berhad chairperson Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, who is in a tussle with MRCB-George Kent (MRCBGK), the turnkey contractor of the LRT3 project, said they should follow national policies by supporting Bumiputera firms.

He added that a “topmost” Prasarana officer was of the view that the project owner should not interfere in MRCB-George Kent’s choice of sub-contractors, but Tajuddin said he disagreed.

He also disagreed with the term “interference”, stating that Prasarana was “being in the know” (ambil tahu) and it was the project owner’s right to do so.

“We need to support the government’s policy and give priority to local contractors.

“One more thing, we should also support the government’s policy by encouraging the participation of Bumiputera contractors.

FMT

“As project owner – at least for me, I don’t know about past chairpersons who may not care about this – but I care. The participation of Bumiputera contractors is important to me. It is a policy which we need to support,” he said.

MRCBGK, meanwhile, pointed out that besides being awarded the contract through open tender, they have also exceeded the minimum 30 percent Bumiputera quota by having 39.7 percent Bumiputera contractors in the LRT3 project.

“We have exceeded the minimum 30 percent Bumiputera quota by having 39.7 percent Bumiputera contractors in the LRT3 project.

“The breakdown of our contractors is as follows: local (52 percent), Bumiputera (40 percent) and foreign (8 percent),” the company said.

MRCBGK also maintained that it had so far only received payments from Prasarana for claims on progress work completed up to June last year.

“Prasarana’s delayed payments of more than RM700 million were from July to October 2020, which have been certified for payment by Prasarana’s appointed independent consultant, KL Prima Consult Sdn Bhd.

“As of October, the certified payment amount was RM723.888 million, while the November payment is still pending certification,” the company said.

Earlier, Tajuddin confirmed that Prasarana president and chief executive officer Muhammad Nizam Alias had been suspended for “insubordination”.

Addressing the LRT3 contractor’s claim that he was withholding RM700 million in payment to them, he said: “For your information, we have paid MRCBGK Kent a sum of RM3.468 billion.”

He insisted that the last payment was made to MRCBGK in October last year for work done until the end of the month, contrary to reports quoting sources who claimed the outstanding payment comprises work completed from July onwards.

On Dec 31, MRCBGK along with 16 sub-contractors and consulting firms involved in the LRT3 project turned to the government for help to secure the outstanding payment.

They cited an unpaid amount of more than RM700 million for work done since July, and this amount is expected to break RM1 billion as of last December.


Related reports:

Jan 5, Prasarana claim they have paid RM3.47b to MRCBGK up to Oct 2, 2020

Jan 5, Prasarana says MACC visited office, not a raid

Jan 4, Prasarana CEO suspended since November 27 for misconduct, insubordination

Dec 30, Prasarana Mum over Report Tajuddin Is Flexing His Powers