Wednesday, August 6, 2008

MRR2 Scam Exposed! Umno Corrupts and Destroys...

Way to go, Samy. Your revelation on MRR2 couldn't have come at a better time. If this was done due to your conscience finally getting the better part of you, how about spilling more? Tell us more about the 90M renovation job on the Parliament or those lopsided pacts with toll concessionaires. I believe we have some interesting story behind these episodes too. Here goes the story...
"When the beams of MRR2 started to crack two years ago, with the approval of the cabinet, Halcrow, a British firm of engineering consultants was appointed to investigate the cause of the cracks, recommend the remedies and implement them.
All looked well and good. For 12M, the much maligned MRR2 could be repaired and open to traffic with Halcrow's input. But there was a bitter battle within the Works Ministry, The PWD revolted. They did not want Halcrow as they have someone else in mind. Those in the know talked about a 'civil war' where the civil servants stood up to the political master and rightly so, spoke their mind.
Even a vociferous "it was decided by the cabinet" line was not acceptable to the 'experts'. The top guns from PWD went to Putrajaya and met the prime minister, requesting that the cabinet decision be reversed. The asking price by the new firm- Leonard Andre and Partners (LAP) was a mere 18M- just 6M more and they were providing space-age technology- carbor fibre to save the cracking pillars.
It did not matter that such technology had never been used in this part of the world but if 18M million was the final price tag, there would be little to complain. But the price escalated to 70M!!
- Extracted from The Sun
Fantastic, isn't it? These extras must be their commission. The people in PWD hijacked and presented it to the Putrajaya boys and the Putrajaya boys pushed for reversal in cabinet decision and hiked up the cost. Wonder how the 52M commission was shared between them? Surprising? Definitely so to those who are ignorant but this practices have been going on in our Economic Planning Unit (EPU) as far back as during Mahathir time. Remember those 10M cash brought up during Anwar's case?
Wait here's more... Halcrow's statement follows:
Government went against our advice, says Halcrow
The solution adopted by the Works Ministry to repair the original cracks that appeared on the Middle Ring Road II (MRR2) flyover in Kepong on Aug 9, 2004 were "not recommended" by Halcrow Consulting Ltd.
"I would like to emphasise that although Halcrow conducted detailed investigations into the original cause of the cracks, the government went against our advice not to use pre-stressed carbon fibre to strengthen the pillar heads because of its limited ductility (capacity to deform before fracture)," Halcrow engineer Roger Buckby said.
So People, ask ourselves whether this is the type governance we want for our country. How many more exposure is needed to open up our eyes and bring us together and push forward for a change to stop this rot once and for all? Their appetite has escalated beyond the inflation rate while our salaries growth lack behind. For 52M, can we have some names here please?
Thanks, Samy for answering my question on how the 70M was spent.

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