By Teoh El Sen
PETALING JAYA: High-profile conmen, who claim to have connections with political figures and mega projects, are able to get away with their actions because the government allows it, said Association for the Improvement of Mass Transit (Transit) adviser Moaz Yusuf Ahmad.
"For us, it's not really the issue of having such conmen but the fact that they can get away with it. There are no government policies to really counter this. And the worse part is, we don't have a sense of urgency to be pro-active about this.
“Anyone can go up to the cabinet with some proposal, the proposal is accepted, and the government seems to be going from plan to plan without actually doing anything," he said.
Yesterday, FMT reported that a local man claiming to have connections with high-profile figures in India, had allegedly conned more than 40 local companies with offers of contracts in large-scale government projects.
The 56-year-old man, known only as Baladevan, had allegedly raked in more than RM5 million from his victims over a span of 10 years.
One of the projects he had purportedly “sold” was an offer to be sub-contractors in the Seremban-Gemas double-tracking project in Negeri Sembilan.
Baladevan claimed that he had close ties with high-profile figures from India's Ministry of Railways, Railway Board and the main contractor Ircon International Limited.
The case was brought to light by Consumer Association of Subang and Shah Alam president Jacob George.
Lack of transparency
Meanwhile, Moaz said the problem stems from the lack of transparency and opennes in the manner that projects, contracts and the tendering process are handled.
He said it was compounded by the fact that there are individuals on the inside, who may be getting some sort of kickback.
"What happens is that some of these people arrange meetings with the government and then make public announcements that they are with a Memorandums of Understanding.
“The result is that the government hushes it up when it realises that their proposals are not really feasible," said Moaz, referring to such individuals as "con-sultants".
Moaz said he was made aware of at least two "questionable" individuals in the railway industry.
"Let's take the high-speed rail from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan, it was announced in the media that it would be build in so-and-so years but we know it is not at all possible. It is not financially viable," he said.
Moaz said despite all the talk, the project never gets further than the state government's approval because it is really not possible with the resources the state government has.
"The state government representatives know that it is not possible but keep it quiet to avoid embarassment. It is actually a scam to make money for various people," he added.
In the Seremban-Gemas project, Moaz said he was informed that someone had created a fake company and demanded part of the signals component contract. The fake company used a widely known name.
Also read:
Conman bilking millions from double-tracking rail project
