MB ponders two unsolicited contracts

02-05-2008:
MB ponders two unsolicited contracts
by Sharon Tan http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_a7f1f2f9-cb73c03a-c789fb00-e74a8952#

KEMAMAN: No sooner had Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said warmed his seat as the state’s new chief executive, two unsolicited contracts landed on his desk, awaiting his signature.

Valued at RM100 million and more than RM500 million respectively, the projects need Ahmad’s stamp of approval before they could be implemented, but for reasons known only to himself, he is hesitating to sign on the dotted lines.

“Two contractors came to see me for my signature, seeking consent from the MB. I did not sign,” said Ahmad in an exclusive interview with The Edge Financial Daily here.

He said one of the contractors had even laid the foundation marker for his project even though approval had not been granted.

Asked what he would do with the applications, he gave a wry smile and said: “We’ll see.”

He would not be goaded into hinting at his next course of action. He remarked, however, that there had been many occasions of contracts “coming from the top”.

“There were projects that we proposed and the Federal (government) approved, and there were those that it didn’t (approve). There were also projects from the top, contractor-driven (projects).

“The contractor would come to us and ask us to sign on the dotted lines, as he has gotten the project. We don’t know anything about it. This is the problem,” he said.

Asked if the two projects descended from Putrajaya, Ahmad just reiterated that they were “contractor-driven”.

Ahmad also said he shared the same objectives as those of former menteri besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh in wanting to develop the state, but his priorities and approach were different.

“I want to ensure all the development projects will benefit the people and not just to satisfy two or three contractors,” he said.

One of his priorities is the streamlining of state-owned companies and scrutinising the affairs of Terengganu’s three listed entities, particularly the ailing timber-based Golden Pharos Bhd.

“I have identified a few people to sit on a panel to look into whether some companies need to be merged and to wind up dormant ones. They are people that I can trust to do the job well. I have not given them a timeframe.

“When they get a clear picture of things, they would report to me so that when I hold meetings, I can ask for clarifications,” he said.

Ahmad was thrust into the limelight last month when the Terengganu palace and Umno had a three-week standoff on the choice of the MB post-general election.

While Umno-led Barisan Nasional wanted to re-appoint Idris, Ahmad was the palace’s choice. He received his appointment letter from the palace amid threats of expulsion from the party.

As a newly installed MB, he again grabbed national headlines by asking the Federal government to reinstate the 5% oil royalty and scrap the wang ehsan scheme, which was introduced after control of the state fell into PAS hands following the 1999 general election.

The Edge Weekly has a closer look at wang ehsan in its upcoming issue.