Pending rep accuses JKR S’wak of not adhering to Work Ministry’s guidelines

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Yong showing tender documents by JKR Sarawak at the press conference.

KUCHING: The Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak is accused of not adhering to the guidelines as prescribed by the Works Ministry when it comes to the usage of geotextiles.

Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong, who made this allegation today, said geotextiles is the most important component for road foundation, used to minimise the effect of sinkage of roads.

“Especially for Sarawak where there is a lot of peat soil, it is very pertinent to ensure that geotextiles of high quality is being used,” she said at a press conference here today.

Yong said both the Works Ministry and Ministry of Finance had issued guidelines and circular that it is mandatory that building materials used need to be manufactured in Malaysia.

“All JKR including JKR Sarawak uses Standard Specification for Road Works (SSRW) Malaysia as part of their tender documents.

“Within the SSRW, it was also stated that construction materials manufactured in Malaysia is mandatory,” she said.

She stressed that all the guidelines had been emphasised that the geotextiles products used in JKR projects must be “Made in Malaysia”.

She said she acquired such information from reliable sources that also told her that JKR projects contractors procured geotextiles products from China, Taiwan or South Korea rather than those locally manufactured.

“If JKR Sarawak has gone for higher specs ones, by all means. Why changed it to lower specs and shortchanged? The quality control is not there. I won’t bring this up if they have changed for better ones.”

Yong had, among others, tender documents by JKR Sarawak with her as she raised this matter during the conference.

She claimed that by going for geotextiles not made in Malaysia, the quality of the foundation work of the roads in Sarawak had been compromised.

“It is important for JKR Sarawak to come clean and explain what is going on. Who changed the guidelines in the tender documents?”

With the construction of many multi-billion worth of road projects in Sarawak in the near future, she said it is pertinent for the agency to ensure the road foundation is proper and of quality.

“We do not allow JKR Sarawak to fool the people of Sarawak as all these projects are using taxpayers’ money to implement, she added.