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Categories
| Tian Chua: Something fishy going on in defence |
| Politics & Government 2009 | |||
| Written by Chan Kok Leong | |||
| Thursday, 05 March 2009 21:29 | |||
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Tian Chua (Batu-PKR) said that there was an alarming increase in the direct negotiations done by the Defence Ministry over the past three years. “The number of defence contracts distributed through direct negotiations rose from 52 to 100 from 2006 to 2008 while the percentage rose from 8.54% to 20.95%. “At first sight, this seems to be a controllable trend. However, if you look closely at the value of contracts given out through direct negotiation, you will realise that there has been a very drastic increase from RM2.113 billion to RM4.392 billion,” said the PKR information chief. The figures for direct negotiation contracts were given out by the Defence Ministry in its reply to Chua in parliament yesterday. According to the ministry’s written reply, the direct deals were done as the purchases were for certain security equipment and strategic projects. The ministry further explained that secrecy was necessary so that the strengths and weaknesses of the Malaysian Armed Forces would not be exposed to its enemies. Chua also questioned the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry for its instruction to fisheries importers and exporters to only use certain insulated boxes approved by the Fisheries Department. “The new insulated fish containers are identical to those manufactured by other firms, but cost four to five times as much as the old ones. “This new regulation will not only bring unnecessary hardship to fishmongers but also cripple the other firms which have been previously manufacturing and selling similar products,” he said. Furthermore, said Chua, the additional cost of containers will only push up the price of fish, which would then be passed on to consumers.
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