Mohamad (picture) claimed that the railway board did not authorise the purchase of “out of commission” diesel trains for the project but Ong had used his “minister’s power” to approve the purchase.
“I want the minister to answer. He hardly shows up. Is he busy with his personal work or busy with his responsibilities?
“The deputy minister said there was not enough funds, but why did the ministry buy old trains? You don’t have the money but you bought worn out trains at a more expensive price then the other countries?” he asked.
Mohamad added that the MACC should “drag” Ong to court if he was guilty of corruption.
“MACC said they will investigate every member of parliament but investigate this minister first,” he said.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had recently announced that it was planning to investigate the RM6 billion double-tracking project, after recent revelations that the project had been managed poorly, resulting in losses amounting to more than RM1 billion so far.
According to this year’s audit report, the government may have to bear part of the RM1.14 billion loss in the 179km double-tracking rail contract between Rawang and Ipoh as the project was poorly managed.
Mohamad was not the only Barisan Nasional (BN) backbencher unhappy with Ong.
During the winding up of the budget debate today by Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Robert Lau, Arau MP Datuk Ismail Kasim also questioned the purchase of the diesel trains because it did not follow the standards and specifications of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) board.
Ismail pointed that the trains were not approved by the board and the managing director was terminated when the agreement was signed.
“What is the rationale of buying at a price of RM30 million when Costa Rica and Argentina had purchased diesel trains that are 20 years old at a price of RM10 million? Why spend at a time when the government is trying to save?” Ismail asked.
Tenggara MP Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique questioned why the minister purchased the nearly ”out of commission” trains when KTMB was already using electric trains.
“What is its life span? Is the maintenance cost low? Can the government guarantee that the cost of maintenance is in accordance with the trains age?” Halimah asked.
Halimah also asked if the existing railway tracks had to be modified to accommodate the diesel BMW XPo. 3 days only. Click for details.
The Rawang to Ipoh (southern) double-tracking and electrification project was completed in 2008 while the Ipoh to Padang Besar portion was proposed in 2002 as a continuation of the existing tracks.
In 2003, former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the government had decided to postpone the project which drew heavy criticism from his predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
However, the project was revived when then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the Cabinet Committee on Public Transport had decided to revive the shelved northern section double-tracking project in 2007.
The project was awarded to Gamuda Berhad and MMC Corporation Berhad.
The major stakeholders of Gamuda and MMC are Raja Datuk Seri Eleena Sultan Azlan Shah and Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary respectively.
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