[UPDATED] No more procurements without tender, says Anwar

PUTRAJAYA – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed that the governance process by the administration led by him will no longer approve procurements without a tender.

In his keynote address during his inaugural monthly assembly with officers in the Prime Minister’s Office this morning, Anwar said the government under his leadership can no longer allow leaks, leakages and corruption to continue to manifest.

“Issues involving regulations, procurement and approvals without tenders are all no longer possible.

“So, for this initial stage, I would like to call, invite (civil servants) to be together in a team, let’s be determined to save our country,” he said.

He said that while helming the Finance Ministry in the past, he had given instructions not to allow family members or close friends to gain interest in government-related projects.

“One of my first directives (as finance minister) was to block my family members or close relations from being prioritised for any government project. 

“My life has been filled with ups and downs but I have consistently used the power that I have for the greater good of the people, not a few selected families or cronies,” he said. 

It was reported in June that the government is investigating hundreds of companies allegedly involved in bid rigging with public procurements valued at over RM2 billion. 

Outgoing domestic trade and consumer affairs minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi had then labelled bid rigging, a fraudulent scheme in procurement auctions leading to non-competitive bids, as “an open secret, which has been exposed over and over again”. 

In 2020, then finance minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz had released a list of 101 projects worth RM6.61 billion awarded through direct negotiations during Pakatan Harapan’s time in Putrajaya. – The Vibes, November 29, 2022