KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong rejected predecessor Anthony Loke’s claim that the consortium pursuing the Klang Valley Double Tracking Phase 2 (KVDT2) was told to subcontract the project to a “China company”.
Loke made the allegation in Parliament today when citing from an affidavit Dhaya Maju Infrastructure (Asia) Sdn Bhd (DMIA) and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) filed in a lawsuit against the government for cancelling the award their DMIA-LTAT joint venture previously won for the KVDT2 project.
Wee rejected the allegations from the affidavit as baseless and challenged Loke to repeat the allegation outside Parliament as remarks made within Dewan Rakyat were privileged.
He asserted that the Transport Ministry had performed a cost-benefit analysis of the contract and decision to cancel but said he could not reveal this as the matter was being litigated.
“The so-called revelations by YB Anthony Loke are just some baseless accusations by DM-LTAT. After I had received the affidavit, I immediately sought legal advice and had been advised to clear my name through legal process without announcing it to the public to prevent the case from being politicised,” Wee said on Facebook.
He claimed he expected DMIA-LTAT to use all avenues to support its case “including politicians, to sensationalise the matter.”
The minister said he would address the matter more fully once he was discharged from hospital.
The Perikatan Nasional government cancelled DMIA-LTAT’s contract for the KVDT2 project after identifying it as among projects awarded via direct negotiation under the Pakatan Harapan administration.
Loke previously pointed out that PH awarded the project for RM4 billion while former MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had approved it for RM5.2 billion when the latter was still the transport minister before the 14th general election.
The government previously disclosed that DMIA-LTAT was suing it over the cancellation but Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said on November 11 that the Cabinet has decided to try and seek a settlement.
