This Government Should Walk The Talk

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On Dec 30, Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd, the current lessee of the KL Tower, Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd (MKLSB), threatened legal action against those who disseminate false and defamatory statements against both identities.
In a statement, they said they will not hesitate to take legal action against any parties involved in the dissemination of false and/or defamatory information on social media with regard to the two and their directors.
From what has been reported on the changing of hands of the operator of the tower, what was published in newspapers and news portals were documents and information in the public domain. And the questions raised were indeed legitimate, without even insinuating wrongdoing by both parties.
False and defamatory allegations were supposed to have been made on social media and I will certainly refrain from adding fuel to the fire.
What is legitimately being questioned is the manner in which the whole transaction took place and the accusations that are being made against the government, which owns the tower.
A simple analogy of the trader in a government-owned complex can be used to illustrate where the government had gone wrong.
When the trader who makes about RM25,000 annually does not want the renew his lease, that spot, rightly, ought to have been given to the highest bidder after a proper selection process.
Instead, it was given to someone for a paltry RM3,800. Besides, the whole transaction was done in secrecy and no open tenders were called. 
We are now told that there was indeed a closed tender for the lease to operate KL Tower and three companies had made a bid. How did this happen?
Annuar Musa, the former multimedia and communications minister, under whose watch this was done, deflected accusations that his ministry was involved.
Instead, the finger was pointed at the Public Private Partnership Unit (Ukas) in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy), which was then helmed by former minister Mustapa Mohamed.
Last week, Telekom Malaysia (TM) said that it has decided not to renew the KL Tower concession in October 2021 and had informed the government of its decision. 
The selection process for the new concessionaire was taken by the government and TM was informed of the newly appointed company to take over the shares of MKLSB and the MKL concession in 2022. 
The sale of 100 percent shares in MKLSB for RM3.8 million was announced during TM’s Q3 2022 financial update.
Many issues not addressed
Annuar said the power to approve the tender of the concession was in the hands of the Ukas. He said that initially there was only one company and he told them to open the selection to more companies. He added that two or three people came to him with their letters of the proposal, which he passed to the administration.
To date, there has been no word from Mustapha or Ukas. The immediate reaction by Annuar’s successor, Fahmi Fadzil, was to assure the public that his ministry will investigate the acquisition of the ownership of KL Tower management.
The minister was supposed to have had a full briefing on the acquisition from TM on Tuesday after having received an update from his ministry. 
All details are open to being investigated, he said, adding he views the issues raised on social media on the acquisition very seriously.
Former multimedia and communications minister Annuar MusaBut the question is: Why are such million-ringgit contracts being handed out on a platter instead of calling for open tenders? Why are there public announcements or notices on such tenders?
Annuar’s admission that “two or three people came to him with their letters of the proposal” is a reflection of how the government had conducted its business.
Let it be stated that no one is accusing Hydroshoppe or TM of wrongdoing, but why two or three? Why not 10 or why was it not open for interested parties to submit their bids? Let us not forget the tower is owned by the government and TM is a government-linked company.
How did these two or three companies know that TM was not renewing the lease? How many were privy to such information? Was this news restricted to just three? How was the figure of RM3.8 million arrived at?
No one has addressed these issues. Even Fahmi, whose government has been advocating an open tender system, remains silent.
Ministers, civil servants and corporate leaders need to be reminded of Anwar Ibrahim’s ethos. Questionable procurements and approval without tender, he said, must no longer be practised.
There cannot be any room for leakages and corruption to take place in the public sector and this could no longer happen, Anwar said at a session with staff of the Prime Minister's Department on Nov 29 last year.
No one is accusing any party of corruption. Yet we are told that the MACC is on the case. But tracing the course of the process and events that led to the selection of the new lessee, irregularities have surfaced and the body of people involved in the evaluation and selection has to address the issues.
Malaysians need to be assured that Anwar means business and this is the perfect opportunity to practice what he preaches. If nothing is done, he will join the ranks of his predecessors who were all full of talk without any action. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: [email protected]
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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