‘Despite the deluge of adverse public comments and outcry, the government seems set to go ahead to award the project to a consortium which includes a scandal-ridden Japanese company.'

On Scandal-hit firm likely to get water tunnel deal

Retired Citizen: It is utterly disgusting to note that the present administration is doing it again.

Despite the deluge of adverse public comments and outcry recently over a few controversial mega-projects like the privatisation of IJN, the LCCT in Labu, the undersea cable from Bakun, just to name a few, the federal government seems set to go ahead to award the project to a consortium which includes the scandal-ridden Japanese company, Nishimatsu. This is in total defiance to the wishes of the rakyat .

It looks like in Malaysia, the word ‘transparency' is totally unheard of and there is completely lack of political will to curb and fight corrupt practices.

In this particular water transfer project; which is an international bid, the tenderer who had violated the rule of the game was invited by our government to the negotiating table to talk terms in order to reach an agreement.

This will definitely raise the suspicion as what had transpired between the parties. What are the hidden agendas? The mere association with a scandalous company is enough to put Malaysia's name into disrepute internationally.

Do the citizens of our beloved nation want to see it being engulfed by never-ending political debacles, scandals and corruption? T

The answer is an affirmative ‘no'! What we need now are good leaders with good governance and a government which is transparent and accountable to the people who elected it into power.

Abdul Jalil Abdul Razak: I read with great intrigue a high criteria tender on compliance, yet an international bidder can get through with irregularities without being rejected at the onset and it is now to be awarded the tunnel project very soon.

From the report, this company had been resorting to bribery and unscrupulous methods in winning projects in Japan and Thailand.

If the Japanese government banned them from bidding for public works, how can Jica (the Japanese loan agency) be indifferent to their unprofessional practice and insist that they be given the chance to modify their pricing in order to win the Malaysian job.

What does it tell us here? What ethical standards do the consultant and the Malaysian government subscribe to?

The compliant tender that will prevent excessive claims is now being put aside due to some hidden agenda. What direction is our country heading to?

Wong Chin Meng: Way back in the US presidential race last year, Barack Obama faced a serious credibility issue when he was associated with a pastor with extreme racist issues and he had to publicly renounce that relationship.

Should we then involve our country with a company (Nishimatsu) who has a long history of using secret funds to bribe government officials to obtain construction jobs? The answer surely is ‘no'.

My two-sen worth is that for the government to consider Nishimatsu for the award of a mega- project, some unseen hands are directing it. I don't think the government is that thick to make such a blunder.

Still, in a land of vanishing private investigators and an on-off-on-off LCCT, it perhaps not surprising.

But it is even thicker to imagine that the government, having seen serious repercussions coming, is so dead set on giving such a plum job to scandal-ridden company.

And what does the Japanese government got to say about this? Their much showcased tendering and squeaky clean image is being called into question.

Silence is not golden. Your reputation is at stake, sir. Images of the East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere come to mind.

Sanjay: Why should the government award projects to contractors who have clearly violated tendering rules (by setting conditions) and being investigated for corruption allegations?

Surprisingly, our mainstream media did not carry any news of corruption probes against Nishimatsu in Thailand or in Japan.

Aren't they supposed to keep watch on the performance of international companies, especially when they are taking part in the local contracts?

Are the government officials going to say that they are unaware of any wrongdoings committed by this contractor?

Just because JICA/JBIC is giving us loan, we do not only have to award the project to a Japanese company but also a contractor chosen by them? Then why waste taxpayers' money to carry out the tendering process in the first place?

Just ask JICA/JBIC on their preference and just award it to them. It appears that we must listen to the lender and we have no right to make any decision as though we don't need re-pay the loan.

I wonder what the deputy minister has to say now when once he said in the parliament: ‘Malaysia is a sovereign country and would not sell its dignity and name?' when replying a query from an MP on the project.

Furious Citizen: For a country with pride and dignity, we would advise our government to reject the loan for this particular project.

The people would be hurt if the government is to be compelled to take the loan from Jica solely to take on their dubious company from Japan.

Wage Earner: Who will be the successful bidder to be awarded the prestigious and much-talked about Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer Project?

I think the Government should go down to the basics and be very clear in their mind. Malaysia as a nation has a right to decide what is good for her. Japan has no right to impose their contractor on us.

Even more so as they wanted the bid for this project to be a standard for open tenders. The government should scrutinise the various aspects of the bid from the beginning and what was stated as conditions for award and stick to those conditions.

Most importantly, the award must be free from any political motives . Your report says that the rakyat is aware that the lowest bidder has put a conditions to their bid that will cost more of rakyat 's money, if they are eventually awarded the contract.

Now, we are also aware that Nishimatsu one if the partners of the consortium is involved and is being charged in Tokyo for a money-for-projects scandal scam. Does the government still want to go ahead and award the contract to them?

Hopeful Citizen: It's amazing to learn from this report that an international company can violate the rules of the games and yet advance to the final. Now that the government is to award them the job soon, they are the champions.

Where is our code of ethics now? For their corrupted acts over the years worldwide, the Japanese government imposed a ban on this company even though they apologised publicly at the national level.

We do not really know whether they have deployed the same tactics for this project. According to market sources, Jica insisted for the award to go to the contractor with the lowest bid.

So is price the only criteria to assess this tender? Does it mean all stringent conditions in the tender instruction can be ignored and dumped? It's amazing that our government can be fooled in such a manner if they accept Jica's insistence.

As investigations are still on-going on Nishimatsu, we would not be surprised if further probes may unearth tainted acts they may have done in Malaysia.

Hope our PM-in-waiting would do something about this. We have suffered for the last six years with no direction and weak leadership. Please give us hope like Barrack Obama is doing for the Americans.