'Who is Syed Hamid trying to hoodwink? For a start, the RM36 billion just went up to RM48 billion before you can say ‘abracadabra'.'

MRT to be 100% funded by gov't

Peter Chen: Many suspect that the cost overrun will be renamed ‘variation order'. The question need to be asked if eventually there are cost overrun or variation order in the region of billions of ringgit whether the project delivery partner MMC-Gamuda have the means to pay, and in all likelihood if they don't, whichever government in power then will end up getting loaded with it.

And will MMC-Gamuda be required to provide a bank guarantee that they will be able to pay for any cost overrun and will it be something like PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) where the government provided some kind of guarantee to enable PKFZ to get bank loans?

The trouble with all the previous scandals is that the Umno/BN government credibility is so low, not many are prepared to believe them.

Anonymous: "The federal government will not be liable to pay for any cost overruns from the construction process." Judging from the government's past blunders, it will be the rakyat again who will pay for the excess.

Albert: Spad chairperson Syed Hamid Albar said that the project delivery partner (PDP) MMC-Gamuda JV Sdn Bhd had estimated that construction alone would cost RM36 billion.

Firstly, for a project of this massive scale, I personally do not think that Syed Hamid is competent and fit enough (besides integrity and professionalism) to oversee it. The government should seriously consider bringing back Hassan Marican (former Petronas chief) instead.

Secondly, I have extremely strong reservations on the arrangements. Spad should instead publish the agreement with MMC-Gamuda in order to persuade the rakyat that the deal is not completely lop-sided in favour of the contractor.

We do not want a repeat of the government's agreements with the IPPs (independent power producers) which until today, TNB and the rakyat are bearing the unnecessary cost of over-production of electricity. Not to mention, the huge amount of subsidy (in billions of ringgit) in natural gas given to these IPPs.

Anonymous2: I hope the government will build a car park complex for each MRT station.

Anonymous3: I still don't understand how any plan can be made when the commission studying the actual needs isn't due to return their report until September 2011. So what research is behind these projects that are slated to cost all these billions of ringgit?

It sounds more like a last-minute money grab before they are removed from office, then Pakatan Rakyat will have the headache of find a way to honour all the contracts BN has signed now.

Personally, I believe all contracts should stand for review once a new administration takes office - this includes water agreements, toll agreements.

Anonymous4: Who is Syed Hamid trying to hoodwink? For a start, the RM36 billion just went up to RM48 billion before you can say "abracadabra". And of course, Spad and Prime Minister Najib Razak, and whoever else is on the gravy train, simply forgot there was land acquisition, rolling stock, etc. How convenient.

BN has been in this game long enough and will take their 10% upfront and MMC-Gamuda will cost this in and a lot more. And there will be no cost overruns, there will just be variation orders to the tune of another couple of billions.

Gamuda's Raja Eleena Azlan Shah and the MMC-Gamuda people will live well ever after while the poor folks in Malaysia have figure out how to make ends meet with prices going up come 2011.

Anonymous5: The government said that they will not pay for any cost overrun but they didn't say that they won't allow for any cost increase when the material cost and manpower cost increase.

We have seen many times that the cost overrun is due to material increase. The government always agreed that it is legitimate for the vendor to increase the price because of material cost increased. This is what cost overrun means to the government. So in the end, it is RM63 billion instead of RM36 billion, or more.

When have we seen any project by BN has no cost overrun? MMC-Gamuda is just a project coordinator. They have no share in the project. So if it is delayed or there is not enough fund, they just stopped the project. There is no recourse for the rakyat to take action. We also like to undertake this project as there is no liabilities for failure.

Changeagent: When pressed further, Spad CEO Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal said: "If we disclose now what the final figure is, it might not to be our best advantage". There you have it, folks. There will be guaranteed taxpayer bailouts later.

Kgen: MRT has to be funded from public funds, there is no other way and it is the same with every country in the world, including Singapore. Pemandu made a fundamental mistake that the massive construction cost can be funded by the private sector as a viable and bankable business. Did the government pay RM131 million for this bunch of incompetents?

Lim Chong Leong: What is "hybrid between turnkey contractor and project management consultant"? It means the government will still completely out-source the project. And to whom? Direct negotiation with cronies, of course.

This means that the completely federal-funded mega-project is the spending of our taxpayer money by our finance minister cum PM on less than capable cronies. The only train I see here is the long gravy train.

DOC: "The tender process would be open to both local and foreign companies which have the expertise in handling MRT projects".

In short, the statement actually refers to local companies as Umno crony companies and foreign companies are those affiliated with the local Umno crony companies. Let's face it, this whole MRT project is not for the rakyat but for Umno and their cronies to enrich themselves at the rakyat's cost.

MRT to be 100% funded by government? Last I heard, the government has no money. The government can't even pay civil servants bonus. It can't afford to subsidise the rakyat with petrol anymore. No earth-shattering foreign investments are coming into the country.

So where did RM36 billion suddenly materialise? The only logical guess is the BN/Umno government must have borrowed it from somewhere.

Longjaafar: The delivery partner "will bear any cost overrun", my foot. The so-called cost overrun is already built in into the estimated price to be paid by the government. MMC-Gamuda are in for a ride, and mark my words, Umno-BN will receive a huge ‘advance', and that will go towards expenses for the elections.

Foodforthought: MRT 100% funded by government (with taxpayers' monies). There, sentence complete.

MRT the most viable option, says gov't

Anonymous6: Who initiated the MRT project? Was it a group of renowned public transport experts or was it the private sector headed by MMC-Gamuda?

I fear that we are repeating the same mistakes as the LRT, where the private sector initiated the project. The LRT project was plagued by cost overruns and poorly planned routes and stations. The government should publish the names and credentials of the so-called experts who proposed the MRT project. I dread that the MRT project is being rushed through without proper due diligence. There also appears to be too much opaqueness.

In summary, the MRT project appears to be initiated by the private sector, rubber stamped by the government and financially guaranteed by the taxpayers.

Anonymous7: Go to Japan and see how it's done. If you can do it half as good as their decades-old system, it would be money well spent. But somehow I know this MRT will be yet another half-done, pie-in-the-sky venture that will let everyone down and then be under utilised due to its inefficiency and poor implementation.

No wonder we all want a change of government. How can this current government be expected to do anything right with its track record? Not to mention, its willingness to fling bullions of our ringgit around willy-nilly.

Patriot: Building the MRT is actually a good idea. But the problem is the cost of building the MRT is too high. Imagine - to build 60km of the first phase cost RM36.6 billion to construct, which works out to be RM610 million per km.

This is way too high because only 20% of the line is underground and the cost of RM36.6 million does not even include land acquistion, etc. And that is only Phase One! What about the cost of the other two lines?

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