Hulu Langat Bersatu information chief Shafiq Halim and several NGOs
have urged the MACC to investigate the concession related to the company
now overseeing the KL Tower.
During a press conference this
afternoon outside the national icon, they held up pictures of LSH
Service Master Sdn Bhd (LSHSM) non-executive chairperson Lim Ken Cheng
with key government leaders.
Shafiq claimed that the photos were taken before the deal was signed for LSHSM to take over KL Tower.
“We
want to ask MACC to investigate the award (of this concession), and we
also ask for the minister (in charge) to reveal the five other companies
that entered the bid for KL Tower,” he said.
The photos depicted Lim with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim,
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, Minister in the Prime Minister’s
Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa, Transport Minister
Anthony Loke, as well as DAP veterans Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng.
The
NGOs present today include Negarawati Tanahair, Secretariat for the
Empowerment of Bumiputera Strategic Ownership (Sepatra), Sekretariat
Gabungan NGO Ikhlas Malaysia, Himpunan Aman Satu Juta Rakyat Malaysia,
and the Muslim Consumers’ Association of Malaysia.
Meanwhile,
Abdul Hamid Shaikh Abdul Razak Shaikh, the managing director of
Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd - the previous KL Tower operator - told Malaysiakini that his company had nothing to do with the press conference and does not condone it.
Hydroshoppe and its subsidiary, Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd (MKLSB), are suing the government for RM1 billion over the alleged wrongful termination of their concession.
‘What’s the link to PKR polls?’
Speaking further on the matter, Shafiq asked why the concession award coincided with PKR’s party polls.
“The concession was signed during the PKR election. So we want to
know, why was this done so close to the election? Were there sources of
funding and so on?
“So the MACC must investigate and ensure that
(if) anyone has committed corruption, they must take the appropriate
action,” he said.
He stressed that it was not a matter of race but of integrity.
Pejuang
lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali, who was also present, said the new
concession deal contradicts Pakatan Harapan’s reform promises before it
became part of the government.
“But finally, we have come to the point where we see that those with corporate connections have found their place.
“(This
is) despite the government saying before that they will ensure the
people are taken care of... but there is still political patronage like
this happening in this country,” he added.
‘Wrongful contract termination’
Hydroshoppe
and MKLSB are claiming damages from Putrajaya over the alleged wrongful
termination of their agreement in November 2022, which included an
extension of the company’s concession from 15 years to 30 years.
This followed the government’s decision in May last year to award the
tower management concession to LSHSM, a joint-venture vehicle between
LSH Best Builders Sdn Bhd and Service Master (M) Sdn Bhd.
MKLSB,
previously fully owned by Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), had designed and
constructed the KL Tower, which was opened to the public in 1996.
It
had been the sole operator of KL Tower since under concession contracts
from the government, which were renewed every 15 years.
Source : https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/742193
