MP questions ‘exorbitant cost’ of upgrading schools in Sarawak
A Sarawak MP wants the government to make sure no contractors are profiteering from school upgrading projects.
PETALING JAYA: The education ministry was today questioned about the high cost of upgrading schools in Sarawak.
Chong Chieng Jen (PH-Stampin) said the average cost of upgrading a school was between RM6 million and RM8 million, including for schools with 100 to 200 students each.
“Is that a reasonable cost as it is just upgrading work and not building a new school? Why is the cost so high?” he asked in the Dewan Rakyat.
Chong asked if the ministry would ensure contractors were not profiteering from such projects.
PETALING JAYA: The education ministry was today questioned about the high cost of upgrading schools in Sarawak.
Chong Chieng Jen (PH-Stampin) said the average cost of upgrading a school was between RM6 million and RM8 million, including for schools with 100 to 200 students each.
“Is that a reasonable cost as it is just upgrading work and not building a new school? Why is the cost so high?” he asked in the Dewan Rakyat.
Chong asked if the ministry would ensure contractors were not profiteering from such projects.
Chong Chieng Jen
He posed this additional question after deputy education minister Mohamad Alamin said the ministry had approved 186 projects to upgrade and build schools at the cost of RM1.57 billion since 2019.
Seventy-five projects were approved at a cost of RM827.1 million in 2019. As at Sept 22, 29 projects had been completed, 41 were ongoing and five had yet to be built. The total cost involved was RM100 million.
As for 2020, 52 projects costing RM350 million had been approved, including six that were ongoing.
Construction had not started on the other projects and no money had been disbursed for them, he said.
Mohamad said 4,027 students would benefit from the upgrading of 29 schools.
He said his ministry had been upgrading schools based on reports and the justification given by government agencies, including the works ministry.
He posed this additional question after deputy education minister Mohamad Alamin said the ministry had approved 186 projects to upgrade and build schools at the cost of RM1.57 billion since 2019.
Seventy-five projects were approved at a cost of RM827.1 million in 2019. As at Sept 22, 29 projects had been completed, 41 were ongoing and five had yet to be built. The total cost involved was RM100 million.
As for 2020, 52 projects costing RM350 million had been approved, including six that were ongoing.
Construction had not started on the other projects and no money had been disbursed for them, he said.
Mohamad said 4,027 students would benefit from the upgrading of 29 schools.
He said his ministry had been upgrading schools based on reports and the justification given by government agencies, including the works ministry.
The right question to ask would be "will there be steps taken to ensure no leakages?"
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ReplyDeleteQUOTE
Najib ordered Edu Ministry to give RM1.25b solar project to Sarawak BN man’s firm, court told at Rosmah’s trial
Thursday, 06 Feb 2020
BY IDA LIM
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 ― Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak exerted pressure and even instructed the Education Ministry in 2015 to give out a solar hybrid project worth RM1.25 billion to a company run by a politician then with the Barisan Nasional (BN), the High Court heard today.
Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, 59, said all these happened while he was education minister and that the BN man and his business partner had even cited Najib’s name to pressure him into giving out the contract.
Mahdzir was testifying as the fifth prosecution witness against Najib’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, where Rosmah is on trial for taking RM6.5 million bribes from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd’s managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin in exchange for helping the company get the RM1.25 billion contract for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.....
“On December 16, 2015, I received an order from Datuk Seri Najib Razak to implement Jepak’s solar hybrid project. That instruction was given to me through his minute on Jepak’s letter,” Mahdzir told the court.
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