DAIM – CORRUPTION & ABUSE OF POWER IN ECRL REVAMP? MACC GETS GRAFT COMPLAINT AGAINST MAHATHIR’S CLOSEST CRONY

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has confirmed receiving a complaint regarding abuse of power in connection with the East Coast Rail Link project, Bernama reported.

The Harian Metro daily had earlier said the complaint was against former government adviser Daim Zainuddin, chairman of the Council of Eminent Persons in the Pakatan Harapan administration.

Bernama quoted MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki as saying that MACC would study the complaint before carrying out further investigations. He did not disclose the involvement of any individual, the report said.

“I confirm that MACC did receive a complaint regarding the ECRL for investigation. However, we will study the complaint first.

We cannot reveal the parties named in the complaint in this case because we have not started our investigations,” he told Bernama TV today.

A source told Bernama TV that the complainant had asked that MACC investigate the inflated cost of the ECRL project, which it said should be RM30 billion instead of RM44 billion.

The source, in referring to a media report, said the ECRL project, which was cancelled in January 2019, got back on track in April that year after the government was convinced to resume the project with China Communication Construction Company Ltd at a cost of RM44 billion through the ECRL New Plan Package.

The source claimed that the new plan should only cost RM30 billion since certain things were reduced, among them the cancellation of five stations along the Gombak-Klang route.

“This means the new ECRL plan is RM14 billion costlier despite the reduction of some things,” he said.

The ECRL project resumed after an additional agreement was signed by Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd and CCCC on April 12, 2019, which saw the project cost reduced by RM21.5 billion from the original cost of RM65.5 billion and the new alignment shortened by 40km from 688km to 648km.

The new alignment will be Kota Baru-Mentakab-Jelebu-Kuala Kelawang- Bangi/Kajang-Putrajaya and to Port Klang. The original ECRL project connected Port Klang in Selangor to Pengkalan Kubor in Kelantan.

Daim, a staunch ally of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was tasked by the previous administration to renegotiate the ECRL project with China, leading to the project’s cost being lowered from RM65.5 billion to RM44 billion following several changes to the initial plan.

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