Rosli Azad Khan, a veteran transport consultant, also questioned how the ministry, with its vast experience in handling huge projects, came to the conclusion that the KVDT2 project was overpriced.
He was commenting on an FMT report that the government’s decision to cancel the project was based on data that was 11 years old.
This was revealed in an affidavit filed by Opus Consultants, whose report to the government in 2018 was cited by transport minister Wee Ka Siong last August when announcing the cancellation of the contract.
Wee said the project was overpriced by over RM1 billion and that the government had decided to reopen the bidding process. The decision led to project contractor Dhaya Maju-LTAT taking Wee and the federal government to court.
According to the affidavit, the Opus report was submitted with several disclaimers including that it could not be relied on by a third party, was based on limited information and was not a substitute for independent investigations.
Rosli said by right, the ministry should not need to rely on third-party data for projects of national importance like the KVDT2, especially when it had experts within the government with all the relevant data.
“Railways have always been under the transport ministry’s jurisdiction. In fact, there is a railway division and research division under the ministry.
“Surely they must have accumulated a massive amount of railway data all these years, which they could easily retrieve and make use of,” he said.
However, he said, the KVDT2 saga indicates that the ministry does not seem to have a handle on the situation.
“I think this is bad, perhaps Wee should resign over this matter.”
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd workers’ union president Abdul Razak Md Hassan said Wee needs to provide an explanation on the matter.
He said even the previous Pakatan Harapan administration awarded the contract again to Dhaya Maju-LTAT after an in-depth study.
“The government should reconsider (its decision to cancel) the contract. The project should not be delayed in the interests of the safety of workers and users,” Razak said.