KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — The son of late former deputy prime minister Tun Ghafar Baba is mulling legal action against the Local Government and Housing Minister (KPKT), Zuraida Kamaruddin, after linking him to the controversy over projects awarded without tender at her ministry.
Zuraida had last month, described Datuk Tamrin Abdul Ghafar as the adviser of Bumi Segar Indah that was directly awarded a RM170 million solid waste project in Taman Beringin and claimed he lobbied Lim Guan Eng, the finance minister then, over the matter.
She also expressly called Tamrin a supporter of Pakatan Harapan.
In a letter of demand today sent by Karpal Singh and Company, the firm said that its client vehemently denies Zuraida’s claims, and was instructed to state that the said project was indeed approved by Zuraida, and was at all material times, to her knowledge.
“Therefore, our client plans to initiate legal action against the KPKT minister, with regards to her statement, and we request from your Datuk , a cop of the project approval letter by the KPKT minister, to the KPKT secretary-general, which we believe is in your possession,” the notice read.
The letter was addressed to Datuk Zainal Abidin Abu Hassan, the ministry’s secretary-general (KSU).
The law firm also demanded that the letter be furnished within seven days upon receiving its letter of demand, or have them extract it via legal means to protect the interest of their client, as Zuraida’s statement had directly implicated Tamrin.
Previously, Zuraida had denied all knowledge of the two projects awarded through direct negotiations by her ministry under PH said to be worth around RM170.8 million, which Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz revealed in August.
She said she would “investigate” the two projects that include the Taman Beringin solid waste project worth RM170 million and the Century software accounting system worth RM501,206.37.
Zuraida was the local government and housing minister then, and still is now.
On August 29, Tamrin had criticised Zuraida’s attempts to absolve herself over the projects awarded during her time at the ministry under the PH administration.
PH’s rivals initially used the disclosure by Zafrul to claim the coalition reneged on an election promise, but PH leaders have seized on the fact that most were either executed during Barisan Nasional’s rule or initiated prior to the general election and paid out after.
