“Chegubard’s accusations are baseless. They demonstrate a lack of understanding of the government’s procurement processes and budget allocations.
“I categorically deny these malicious falsehoods and will take legal action against him soon,” he said in a statement.
Nik Nazmi said Chegubard’s claims that the RTB project cost up to RM16.6 billion, with unknown companies and individuals receiving commissions as proxies to the minister, were unfounded and malicious.
He said the government had reassessed high-priority flood mitigation project proposals, focusing on critical areas.
“The total development allocation for the 33 RTB projects, set by the finance ministry, amounts to RM11.8 billion, not RM16.6 billion.”
He also said no funds had yet been allocated for development expenditure.
“Almost all of the government’s RTB projects this year are still undergoing the tender process, with 19 projects already issued letters of acceptance this year.
“Furthermore, the government’s RTB projects undergo a transparent procurement process under the governance of the finance ministry and have to go through procurement board meetings, of which I take no part.”
Yesterday, Chegubard lodged a police report claiming that millions in kickbacks were being paid out to secure flood mitigation projects, alleging that this had led to a significant increase in costs.
He said the government had in November last year cancelled RM7 billion in contracts for flood mitigation works, reportedly awarded via direct tender by the previous administration, in order to review them.
He claimed the bribes were paid under the guise of negotiation fees, which would be channelled through law firms to dubious recipients.
He also alleged that recipients included proxies for the minister, believed to be in reference to Nik Nazmi.
He alleged that one of the recipients in a flood mitigation project was a driver who worked for a local council in Selangor and another was a cosmetics company. He claimed the driver was also involved in a hospital project.
Meanwhile, another piece of evidence Chegubard cited was supposedly a leaked letter in April from Nik Nazmi to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Chegubard claimed the letter showed Nik Nazmi asking Anwar to approve tenders via direct negotiation.