KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — The newly-unveiled independent audit panel on the second Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2) will not make any inroads into finding the “culprits” who had caused the project costs to overrun by the billions, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua said today.
Pua accused Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai of ignoring the PAC’s November 26 recommendation for the Auditor-General to audit the airport.
“Instead, he announced the set up of a separate “independent audit committee” and strictly limited their scope “to conduct a detailed investigation of the sinking surfaces at the apron and runway with the aim of ensuring safety at the airport,” the Petaling Jaya Utara MP claimed in a statement.
“I have no issues with the panel composition, but the scope is so limited. So the question arises, why didn’t the MOT want the A-G in there?” he told Malay Mail Online, referring to the Ministry of Transport.
Yesterday, Liow said the independent panel will audit KLIA2’s safety issues, including the soil settlement at the airport’s apron.
Pua pointed today to PAC’s report on the KLIA2 project — where the parliamentary committee had found that airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) management’s “mismanagement” and “questionable decision-making” — had caused multiple delays and cost overruns from the initial RM1.7 billion to RM4 billion.
He also listed the decisions to build the airport at a site that engineers found to be unsuitable and costly, as well as the decision to build a satellite-type terminal instead of following airport consultants’ proposals to build a finger pier terminal.
“It is clear that the “independent audit committee” will not be given any room to dig into the above faults and identify the culprits behind the scandal,” the DAP national publicity chief said in the statement.
He then questioned if there was an attempt to cover up the alleged mismanagement of KLIA2’s design, project award and construction.
“Is Datuk Seri Liow remotely interested in punishing those being the decisions which has resulted in the profits of MAHB to drop by a staggering 98 per cent in the latest financial quarter? Or will the RM4 billion KLIA2 scandal go the way of the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal which has become a crime without criminals under the Ministry of Transport?” he asked.
“If MAHB really has nothing to hide then there is no reason at all for Datuk Seri Liow to completely disregard the recommendation for the AG to be instructed to conduct an audit of the KLIA2 scandal based on the PAC findings,” he added.
Yesterday, MAHB managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said the company will study PAC’s report and is preparing a response to the parliamentary committee.
