Gerbang Perdana smiles to the Bank with $257mil

RM257mil compensation and claim from Gerbang Perdana for the wrongful termination of the Crooked Bridge project.

Works Minister Samy Vellu officially announced that the government has compensated Gerbang Perdana a sum of RM257.4million.

You believe it? Did I hear wrongly?

Many months ago when JKR contract department were assessing the claims, they boasted to me that the claim will not exceed RM10mil. I told them no way as they will be pressured by their political masters to give a golden "alimony".

Can any JKR auditors and assessors come forward to explain why their conviction and belief in their truthful assessment had gone so damn wrong, that the RM10mil is now RM257mil?

If you are good engineers and God-fearing, why did you fear the political master? Datuk Seri Wahid and Tan Sri Omar were never afraid to speak the truth and to stand firm based on their principles. Both of them only feared God. Did the engineers now fear man more than Allah? Abdul Rahim has proven he didn't fear man; did you other engineers have now feared man over Allah?

There are many who loves to claim their love and devotion but ultimately the evidence runs on the contrary.

Samy gags JKR Rahim

Ministers are responsible and accountable for their ministries and should provide directions and decisions pertaining to the political decisions made by the cabinet.

Minister is not suppose to interfere with the technical and design aspects of the administration of the department which should be left to the experts, i.e. the civil servants who are skilled in their field of works.

But Samy asked the Director of JKR Putrajaya, Abdul Rahim Ahmad to shut up and not make any statements pertaining to the quality of materials and workmanship which was the cause of the defects and leakages to the Immigration office in Putrajaya.

Samy told Rahim to keep his mouth shut and do his work. But Rahim was just doing his work by telling the reason why and what was the cause of the defective works. Isn't Rahim doing his work? If it is, then why asked him to shut up? You fucking ministers should not interfere with the experts, and you should be the one to shut up. Just because the responsible civil servants tell the truth which probably would hurt the contractor, how is it that the minister was the one that was upset? Was it because the contractor was given the job/project through the personal help by the minister? No wonder all the good engineers had to rot away in silence and force to retire prematurely and some who had still good years to serve even at 56 were not given the opportunity to continue to serve the nation. However, we have those corrupt officers who gets extension of their services a few times. Tan Sri Omar did not get an extension to his service when he reached 55, Datuk Seri Wahid though reluctant, was not even recommended to get an extension. Both of them are former D-G of JKR. But Tan Sri Zaini got his service extended. Zulkipli had his service extended 3 times.

Do you believe this?

Samy said the pipe problem at Putrajaya Immigration office Putrajaya was due to the unsuitability of the pipe material used by the contractor and approved by Syabas.

The pipes were manufactured in America approved by the authority here.

According to Samy, cast iron pipe was specified and the contractor proposed the alternative pipe used.

What a nut...Cast Iron pipe is history and obsolete. Nobody used it now particularly for internal plumbing pipe system. It was supposed to be steel pipe or G.I. pipe. Cast iron pipes were used previously for sewerage downpipes, not water pipe because of the porosity.

Samy, if you don't know, please shut your mouth up and asked the JKR engineer to make the statement or explanation. You screw up everything and blame the civil servants for making truthful and correct statements when you had been making stupid statements without any technical basis.

Samy said: Go Fly Kite

Samy: "You fellas think I am a bad boy as if I decide on the tolls, as if I put you fellas in trouble, that I suck your blood and all that. I didn't! I am a minister and I implement the cabinet's decision; it's not and had never been my decision and it's surely not my own."

"Privatisation was purely EPU's decision - they made all those decisions such that I am blamed - and EPU is controlled by the PM's department; not me; go and check. That decision was then approved by the cabinet and then my ministry only carry out instruction. My ministry then is forced to make the announcement to increase the toll... it was a burden for me, and you all just scold me; not fair, not fair! Where is justice? You fellas are not mature enough to understand what is happening."

"You want the toll rates to come down, if you don't travel on those roads and the user capacity comes down, then the government will look into alternatives."

[emphasis added]

Source: NSTP, Monday, Feb 12, 2007, page 14, Prime News.

Samy Vellu Shocking Revelation

Samy Vellu revealed that the government will need the consent from the toll-road concessionaires before the agreement can be made public.

It's the greatest shock anyone can apprehend.

I thought the parliament is the highest authority in any country and that parliament is always supreme and no one can, not even the past legislators can bind the future legislators, that is to say, no law can bind the parliament - Parliament can make any law or change any law as they so wished. That's the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy.

What Samy is saying is that, a term in the contract betwen the parties to an agreement, governed by the Act of Parliament, ie Contracts Act 1950, can be binding absolutely, could even bind the parliament, ie the legislations. Parliament have the power even to change the constitution, what more a term in a contract between a private entity and the ministry of work.

If we Malaysians are asked to accept this statement, then we are either so stupid or incapable to understand the rule or law, or that the country is now ruled under a new set of laws reflecting the feudal system or tartan system.

Dear Samy, no one and no law can bind the parliament. So long as the parliament decides on what they wanted to make as law or to unmake a law, it can be done. Please don't treat us as oxymoron illiterate asses.

Samy & MPPJ at War

Samy: We don’t need your approval

Is it true?

Permission from the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ) is not needed, Works Minister Samy Vellu said.

“The construction of a pedestrian bridge in Petaling Jaya is among the projects approved by the Cabinet. The Cabinet decides, not the local council,” Samy said this when asked to comment on Thursday's tiff between the MPPJ, the advertising company, Poly Dimensions Sdn Bhd, over the building of a pedestrian bridge at Section 10 in Petaling Jaya.

Poly Dimensions Sdn Bhd was given approval by the ministry to build five pedestrian bridges along the Federal Highway and federal roads in Petaling Jaya in return for advertising rights on these structures.

Samy Vellu said: “Historically, when the PWD wants to put up a building or any structure, we don't ask permission from anybody, since the PWD is the prime department and the government agency to do it.”

He said that if the PWD needed to get permission from the MPPJ for constructing the pedestrian bridge, it would take a long time.

Are we seeing a conflict between the executives and the civil servants? Or, the executives vs the local council?

Something is glaringly not right ... we are surely opening up the pandora boxes in the Paklahism era.

Mahathir must be observing attentively, watching the new LahSamy Code of Malaysia.

The newspaper called it a tiff between PWD and MPPJ.

I think it is not PWD per se. It is Samy Vellu and the Works Ministry vs MPPJ.

PWD had no part to play in this fiasco and tiff between the nutheads, and JKR may, by default, be construed as an overseer of a "private-privatised project" initiated by the Works Ministry of which JKR wasn't the authority, neither the superintendent officer of the project.

Isn't this a nice way to throw the fiasco to JKR and hold them responsible for things which they had no power to decide and of which they were never part of the decision-making and appointment process; neither is there project management, for if there is, the first and foremost requirement will be STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT, that is, to conduct a Stakeholder Analysis before the project begins.

SAMY: Only I can Approve Project!

Which PWD project is not approved by the Work Minister?

MRRII, Cameron Highland roads (where the slope collapsed), Simpang Pulai-Lojing-Ayer Raja Road (slope failures), East-West Highway (slope failures), North-South Highway (rockfalls & mudslides), and include all those projects that had been terminated, abandoned, or failed, such as the Hospital Tun Aminah, Cameron Highland Hospital, School projects, etc. Of course we can exclude projects such as Matrade Building, Computer Labs, and Army Camp Gemas which are awarded to PMC by the relevant Ministries.

Now, Samy said he wants all road projects that involve cutting into hillslopes to get the approval of the Works Minister. The new directive covered the construction of reserve areas for road-widening projects along hilly and coastal areas. All Public Works Department (PWD) heads have also been directed to get his personal approval for every road development project close to hillsides.

“We want to ensure there is no indiscriminate cutting of hillslopes,” Samy said.

Commenting on the on-going road-widening project on the hilly Tanjung Tokong-Batu Ferringhi road in Penang, Samy Vellu said the ministry had decided to relax width requirements on the road reserve along the stretch to protect the hills. “If we were to follow the PWD’s standard requirement, the project would result in the cutting of hills in Batu Feringghi. “We don’t want this to happen and have decided to reduce the required road-reserve width from 19.8m to only 15m to save the hills along the 15km stretch,” he said.

So, with the new directives, the Work Minister is empowered to twist and bend the code of practice, rules and regulations to suit. What is needed now is to Kau Tim him and you can have road reserve at 15m or even less, maybe, no need to have road reserve at all.

I thought if any land is inadequate to meet the requirements of road reserve, for reasons such as safety of hill-slopes, then the road should not be allowed to be built or approved. Instead, an innovative solution is provided so as to facilitate approval. If that's the case, the code of practice and regulations should be amended; not by way of unfetted discretion which will lead to abuse of power. A soultion to a problem will breed new and far potent problems (Murphy's Law).

Samy Toll: Pre-emptive Strikes

Samy Toll

SAMY CALCULATED PREEMPTIVE STRIKE

Samy: Be prepared for rise in toll charges

Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the Government had to stop the payout as it could no longer burden itself with increasing costs. “After taking many things into consideration, the Government wants to put a stop to this practice,” he said. As such, he said, the people should be prepared for an increase in toll charges.

Samy Vellu said the Government had to pay out hundreds of millions of ringgit in compensation to the concessionaires when they asked for an increase in toll charges, as provided for in their agreements. “Based on the concessionaire agreements, a toll increase cannot be avoided when the time comes,” he added.

FIRST, he agreed to terms that was North-bound; such one-sided lucrative contracts that would create instant billionaires of which investment bankers would be willing to be bed-partners to fund these projects.

NOW, we are suffocated by the toll-haze; and the directorate is coquetting empathy.

This is the best Ventriloquism you can ever watch!!!! Let dance to the tune .....

Project Failures - Samy Bares All

PMC puncanya, bukan JKR

"Dari tahun 1979 saya jadi menteri tidak pernah jadi macam ini"

- KATA DATUK SERI SAMY VELLU.

Utusan Online, 14th November 2004.

Datuk Seri Samy Vellu finally had finally the guts to come out in the open to bare all the viruses and worms that had plague the projects and had infected and infiltrated the whole Kitchen Cabinet.

Who was responsible for all the fiascos of project failures?

According to Samy Vellu, it is none other than the KSU, the Secretary general of the Finance Ministry who is the most powerful person in regards to decisions on project award.

This is what Samy says:

Tetapi orang yang bertanggungjawab itu ialah Ketua Setiausaha kementeriannya. Ketua Setiausaha saja yang memberi arahan dan dia selalu tidak boleh menerima pandangan lain. Dalam satu-satu mesyuarat kalau ada para pegawai dari JKR untuk menjaga kepentingan teknikal, dia selalu malukan mereka. Dia kata, kalau tidak tahu tutup mulut."

"Beliau sedar bahawa semua masalah itu hanya muncul setelah perkhidmatan Perunding Pengurusan Projek (PMC) diperkenalkan oleh Kementerian Kewangan pada tahun 1990-an."

WHO DECIDES TO SET UP THE PMC?

This is what Samy says:

"Ia ditubuhkan oleh Kementerian Kewangan pada tahun 1990-an. Peranannya ialah untuk memansuhkan projek-projek JKR. Ada kepercayaan bahawa sekiranya projek-projek itu diberikan kepada PMC ia boleh disiapkan dengan lebih awal, lebih cantik dan macam-macam lagi. Malah projek yang mereka siapkan itu sebenarnya lebih mahal."

According to Samy, In the early 1990s, Mahathir's Govt had decided to engage the service of a Project Management Consultant (PMC) which are a composite cartel with faces and looks that resemble a contractor, may look like consultant and had shown interest as property developers and that entity is registered with the Ministry of Finance. The set up of PMC was meant to hijack all JKR's mega projects. It was claimed by the PMC that they are more efficient, more cost effective and can do a better job than JKR. The results speaks of itself: - Computer lab projects, Matrade Building, Hospital Sultan Ismail di Pandan, Johor, Kangar Hospital, Cameron Hospital, Langkawi School projects, et al; all these projects are now reverted back to JKR for reorganization and restructuring - to mitigate the damages done, and the multi million loses incurred; all tax-payers money.

As revealed by Samy, the PMC is a private entity who had only 2 officers manning the company - a managing director and a deputy managing director, and NO others. The Government, via the Ministry of Finance had entrusted and delegated the power to this PMC to appoint and select any contractors, design engineers, consultants, and nominated sub-contractors for all projects parked within their jurisdiction or those within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.

Snip from the interview:

Q: "Sebenarnya apabila Kementerian Kewangan sudah memberikan sesuatu projek itu kepada sesebuah kontraktor, tanggungjawab saya sebagai menteri hanyalah mengarahkan JKR supaya melantik kontraktor itu. Saya memberikan kuasa kepada Ketua Pengarah JKR untuk melantik kontraktor itu untuk harga yang telah ditentukan. Itu saja.

Ini bermakna Kementerian Kewangan mempunyai kuasa yang lebih besar walaupun Kementerian Kerja Raya mempunyai pakar yang boleh memberikan nasihat?"

SAMY REPLIED: YA, BETUL.

Q: Siapakah yang memeriksa PMC?

SAMY: TIADA SIAPA. (believe it? NObody manages or control or audit the PMC!!!)

Q: Kerajaan ada JKR tetapi kenapakah kerajaan memilih untuk memberi kepercayaan kepada badan swasta mengendalikan projek yang bernilai berjuta-juta ringgit? Apakah rasionalnya?

SAMY: Ada satu jawapan saja kepada soalan ini. Kata mereka, kerja-kerja itu boleh disiapkan dalam jangka masa yang cepat.

Q: Tanpa mempedulikan soal kos?

SAMY: Ya, tanpa mempedulikan kos. Apabila JKR membuka tawaran bagi setiap bilik darjah dengan harga RM55,000, ada juga pemaju yang bersedia menyiapkannya. Tetapi sebuah bilik darjah yang ditawarkan melalui PMC ada yang berharga RM95,000 dan ada juga yang mencecah sehingga RM120,000.

Kosnya sekarang sudah jadi berganda. Apabila kita tanya kenapa harganya jadi begitu tinggi mereka nanti akan beri berbagai-bagai penjelasan.

Sekolah-sekolah yang dibina dengan harga yang tinggi itu memang cantik-cantik. Tetapi siapa yang hilang wang? Kerajaan.

Q: Adakah pemaju-pemaju itu dapat menyiapkan projek-projek berkenaan dengan cepat seperti yang dijanjikan?

SAMY: Tidak juga. Ada sekali itu JKR telah diminta supaya mengeluarkan satu tawaran untuk pembinaan 500 buah sekolah dan kita sudah memilih lebih daripada 200 pemaju untuk melaksanakannya.

Tetapi apabila sampai masa kita hendak mengeluarkan surat niat, JKR telah diminta supaya menarik balik semua tawaran itu dan menyerahkannya kepada PMC. Semudah itu saja.

Q: Apa yang istimewanya tentang PMC ini?

SAMY: PMC LEBIH KUAT DARIPADA KITA.

Believe what you hear from Samy? PMC is stronger than Ministry of Works?

Is this the Government we had? That even the MINISTRY can be overruled by a PMC?

How is it that this can happen?

How is it that the Government had developed a dinosaur from a lizard within such a short span of a few years that is capable to destroy the Works Ministry and billions of dollars of project?

Who is behind the PMC?

Who's the GODFATHER behind it?

It cannot be the Jews?

Only UNMO can answer it; TRUST me!

Sultan Aminah Hospital - Fungi Infection

THE PARADOX OF FUNGI INFECTION

SAMY VELLU BLAMES HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT
CHUA SOI LEK BLAMES PWD

According to Samy Vellu, the fungus problem at the new $557.8 million Sultan Ismail Hospital in JB was caused by the failure of the hospital management to undertake routine maintenance but Health Minister thinks that the problem was due to structural defects.

The hospital was supposed to be completed on July 29, 2002, but 3-extensions were given due to various problems and was only completed on Nov 14, 2003 and handed over to the PWD on Feb 15, 2004. The Health Ministry took over from the PWD on March 2004 and appointed Pantai Medivest Sdn Bhd to oversee daily maintenance and monitoring of the building supervisory systems, reporting defects and damage to the main contractor. “There was no daily routine checks on the hospital due to lack of staff. The presence of the fungus on the 2nd and 3rd Level of the hospital was due to damage to the air-conditioner valve, which was not reported as there was no building supervisory system,” said Samy Vellu.

However, Dr. Chua said the fungus problem was due to structural defects and not due to delay in routine maintenance. In dismissing Samy Vellu’s report as “Defective” Dr Chua said the fungus was caused by the dampness in the hospital following leakage in its major roof and low human traffic.

“The roof was like a big retention pond,” said Dr Chua. “We (Health Ministry) received the hospital in good faith on March 15 this year but it was full of defects. Besides major leaking problems, there were also problems in the piping system which had affected gas flow and also problem in the sewerage. The problems were made known to the contractor, who had promised to rectify them but did not do so,” Dr Chua said yesterday.

So, who was right and who is wrong????

Actually, both Ministers are right!

Hospital management must make routine inspections and if the air-conditioning valve was damaged and unreported (as claimed by Samy), definitely, it will cause dampness and ultimately leads to fungi growth - SO, SAMY WAS RIGHT! Hurray Uncle Sam.... but.....

Well, at the same time, the roof was a retention pond, there were major leaking problems, piping problems, and sewerage system failures of which the promised restification was not done timely, as claimed by Chua Soi Lek - THEREFORE Dr Chua IS ALSO RIGHT! Yahooooo......but.......

THEN, who is WRONG? Who is the CULPRIT? Is it the CONTRACTOR (MH Project Sdn Bhd) or the HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT SERVICE PROVIDER (Pantai Medivest Sdn Bhd)?

Ironically, both Ministries would not look into the contractual aspects related to the problem. The question arises are:

1) If the health Ministry was not happy with the conditions of the facility of which it was alleged that the works are not conforming to the specifications and standards, then why did they willingly, take over the building? GOOoood FAITHhhhh? Now, it's bad BLOOooooD!

2) If the roof is like a retention pond, (as claimed by Dr Chua), and is leaking badly, it is amusing that PWD had issued a Certificate of Completion (CPC) to the contractor ....... that's professional negligence on the part of PWD engineers.

3) Since taking over the facility by the Health Ministry, how is it contractually managed with regard to Defects Management and the contractual communication related to the Defects Liability Period of the contractor? And how is it that the line of communication seemed to be that the Health Ministry was talking and liaising directly with the main contractor which is not what the contract stipulates - i.e, the contract requires the Superintendent Officer (S.O.) to issue instruction to the main contractor for defects rectification during the defects liability period and failure to respond timely by the contractor, the contract does provide the S.O. to engage others to carry out the work and the cost incurred shall be debited to the contractor. At such, the question that the contractor did not respond to the Health Ministry's Instruction did not arise as the contractor need not take instruction from the Ministry except from the S.O.

In conclusion, the allegation against the contractor is mala fide. The contractor may have done a bad job, but since the employer (i.e. JKR) had accepted the works and issued the CPC, the contractor's responsibility is presumed to have been fulfilled if they did not receive any instructions from the S.O. to make good any defects; and the contractor cannot be held responsible for the damages arising thereof. Morally and socially, the contractor maybe the cause or the contributor to the problem but contractually, he is absolved of the responsibility if the failure on the part of the S.O. to give the necessary instruction did not take place.

Since the Health Ministry had decided to be friendly, and .... have GOOoooD FAITHhhhhh, and had INFACT, contractually accepted to take over the facility, then, they had taken over the contractual responsibility to manage the building and it's associated services; and they must be held fully responsible - for their actions and their decisions. In that sense, when the service management contractor was appointed to manage the building, how could they claimed that it was not their fault that they did nothing except to wait for the main contractor to rectify the defects, which in reality, they should be taking proactive actions to ensure that the building and its services are functioning in accordance with the operation definition. Where is the "Duty of Care" & "Reasonableness" ?????

A Contract is a Contract; Nothing More, Nothing Less!

Every party to the contract must know their role and responsibilities as laid down in the terms and conditions of contract. Every party to a contract must understand their "Rights" and their "Obligations". Each party must also know of the associated risks they will face and the consequences of their decisions and actions that lead to the risk that had happen. Even among the Ministries, there is an unwritten contract of "Duty of Care" and a "Duty to the Rakyat" for spending $558 million on a facility that is malfunctioning and would not serve it's objectives.

The same goes to the Highway problems (MRR2), East-coast Karak Highway shambles, The Langkawi "White Elephants" Schools, and the Matrade Building Debacle. Infact, there are many more systemic failures in Government projects ... computer lab fiascos, PUAS fiascos, Simpang Pulai - Kampung Raja Sloppy slope design (awaiting failures), Gemas Army Barrack project & payment fiascos, Gua Musang- Lojing Highway Slope failing (awaiting failure), Broga landfill project fiascos, et al.

More of these bad news will surface soon and probably, Pak-Lah who had directed the Sports Ministry to form a Cabinet Committee for sports revitalization may also have to form another Cabinet Committee and Advisory Panel to manage the Government Project Management System. The Sports Committee headed by Azalina engaged Hallam Pereira to tell her what our sports officials had already told her predecessors; and so, the Government Project Management committee may also need a foreign consultant to tell them what we local professionals had already known and widely spoken and discussed within the project management community. Is that the Government's way of SOLUTION MANAGEMENT - i.e engage Foreign Consultant, pay through your nose and get a "BLUEPRINT" of our known problems and known solutions and then ARCHIVED the file. IMPLEMENTATION? NAY, NAY, NAY .....oh NO NO NOooooo!!!!!

CAKAP TAK SERUPA BIKIN - MALAYSIA BOLEH LAGI.