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Please Show More Transparency In Dealing With Privatisation of Projects Under The Seventh Malaysia Plan (1996-2000) Statement by Dr Tan Seng Giaw, DAP National Vice-Chairman and MP for Kepong on the revival of privatised projects affected by the economic crisis. 6 April 2000 | |||||||
| From 1983, the Malaysian Barisan Nasional Government has privatized over 434 projects with a total cost of over RM66.7 billion. From 1996 to 2000, a further 68 projects are for privatization. These include the Rawang to Ipoh Railway Double Tracking Project, Bakun Hydro-electric Project, Monorail and Kedah International Airport. Some projects have been put on hold because of the economic crisis. Rawang is a small town near Kuala Lumpur where there is a double tracking network. Gigantic projects attract controversy simply because the cost is enormous. As the economy shows signs of recovery in certain sectors, there are efforts to restart these projects. For example, the RM3.6 billion Double Tracking Project has been reported to be awarded to a Japanese consortium led by Mitsui and Company and a local consortium headed by DRB-Hicom Group. Speculations are rife. Since the RM3.6 billion will eventually be paid by the tax-payers, the Government must improve its transparency and accountability by letting the people know more details of the proposed deal on the project. Previous experience with | |
huge projects such as the multibillion Bakun project causes concern: cronyism, undersea cable, relocation of the natives, and the destruction of the environment. As the Government is reviving the Bakun project, albeit at a smaller scale, it is also sorting out other delayed projects such as the Rawang-Ipoh Double Tracking project. Does the country desperately need the electric train project from Rawang to Ipoh? Has the number of railway passengers increased sharply? Now, if we travel by car along the North-South Highway, it takes about two hours from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh? Not many people take a plane from KL to Ipoh, so that the Ipoh Airport is under-used. Will the Double Tracking project face the same problems as the Ipoh Airport? Similarly, the Light Rail Transit, LRT, in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya scarcely attracts passengers. It can hardly make ends meet. How will the Government deal with this privatized project? We shall continue to follow up the various privatized projects such as the Double Tracking project , trying to make the Government more transparent and accountable.
Dr Tan Seng Giaw | |||||
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