KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should probe into the management of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu’s (UMT) procurement of a research vessel, the RV Discovery, which was built with a contract value of RM14.39 million.
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said UMT failed to properly manage the procurement of the vessel as it did not undertake due diligence in the tender process.
“The procurement of the RV Discovery was concluded as a ‘sick project’ and even though the construction of the vessel was completed, it didn’t turn out to be a research vessel, but rather a total waste,” he told reporters after chairing the PAC meeting at the Parliament building here.
Nur Jazlan also noted that during the construction of the vessel’s hull, the use of steel was change to aluminium just three months after the contract was signed, but without the approval of the approval authority.
“This has caused the ship’s classification to be downgraded from a research vessel to a cargo vessel,” he said.
The PAC’s report on the management of UMT’s procurement of the RV Discovery was tabled at the Dewan Rakyat sitting here yesterday after the proceedings on the matter took place on April 2.
The procurement of the RV Discovery was done through an open tender to local contractors with a value of RM11.99 million and a completion period of 80 weeks from Sept 8, 2008, to March 22, 2010. – Bernama