Persatuan Kontraktor Bumiputera Kelas F Malaysia (PERKOBF) said that the government must put an end to concession company services where construction and renovation works are concerned.
“Now, projects valued at RM200,000 are combined into bigger projects and given to concession companies. We would like to do away with these companies,” PERKOBF president Tukiman Radion said.
Tukiman said Class F contractors used to be given projects that have now been taken over by concession companies.
Class F contractors, now called G1 contractors, are allocated jobs valued below RM200,000. The licences for these jobs are given specifically to Bumiputera contractors.
According to Tukiman, Class F contractors are frequently blamed by concession companies when projects fall short of the high standards set.
“If a concession company gets a project, like a road repair valued at RM32 per metre, they then give it to class F contractors at RM19 per metre.
“Concession companies are reaping what they haven’t sown, and that is why the construction work carried out is subpar. But when there is a defect, it’s always Class F contractors that are blamed,” he said.
According to him, the projects should be given directly to Class F contractors, in line with the government’s efforts to do away with middlemen.
Tukiman said that opportunities for a Class F contractor to get a project are also dwindling.
He urged Putrajaya to increase the maximum value for a contract they could apply for to RM350,000, from the current RM200,000, citing the rising cost of supplies as a reason.
“We only get big projects like this about once a year,” he said. “So how is a Class F contractor to make ends meet, especially with the high cost of living? We are asking for an upper limit of RM350,000 because we have been forced to live with RM200,000 for 16 years.”
He said the acquisition of jobs by drawing lots should not be limited to contracts valued below RM20,000, and said these jobs should have their upper limit increased to at least RM150,000.
Tukiman said that Class F Bumiputera contractors are losing opportunities due to the lot-drawing process being computerised.
“The allocation of projects is not transparent anymore. We would like it to be made manual again, to draw lots and not to have contracts assigned by a computer to avoid biased allocation,” he said.
The government’s Implementation Coordination Unit and several other government branches have used computer algorithms since 2015.
Tukiman said that he has appealed several times to the Works Department to find a solution to the problem.
He said several letters were written to request meetings, but went unanswered.