by Rahmah Ghazali | Malaysiakini
DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang urged government ministries to get cracking for a total ban on government support letters for those tendering for its projects.
In response to Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat’s statement on the a move by the ministry on Wednesday, Lim had said it was a step in the right direction.
The Ipoh Timor MP said ministries should, instead, replace the questionable support letters with the open tender system.
“The prime minister, PM’s department and other ministries should impose a total ban on support letters and practise open tenders, so questions over the letters would vanish.
“If there are open tenders, then there would be accountability and transparency. They would be open to public scrutiny and all will depend on the merits and demerits of the proposals,” said Lim when contacted.
Anti-graft warriors sleeping on the job?
On Wednesday, the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) had justified support letters, saying no corrupt practices were involved.
However, the English daily New Straits Times reported that it was against the law to issue a support letter to an individual or company in which the issuer or his family or partners had a vested interest.
Despite that Ong said the ministry will impose the ban in order to instill a culture of good governance and as a result of the exchange of ideas at the National Key Result Ares (NKRA) laboratories.
Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor Derek Fernandez told Malaysiakini that the support letters could impact negatively on the image of a particular administration.
According to him, it would still be acceptable if the intent in issuing the letter for endorsement was “in a nature for character reference or legal or administrative purposes.
“However, if the letter is intended to put pressure on the ultimate decision maker directly or indirectly, then that would be improper,” he said.