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Quote "force majeure" and save public funds..this is boleh-land.

Who's behind the Gerbang Perdana S/B? A bit worried about "Perdana" out there.

Just bring the election forward and we'll see whether Abdullah gets his 92 per cent of the parliamentary seats.

Unfortunately, much as I like Badawi, I don't think he is a good enough PM. It would seem that tax payers' money has been put to waste ....which these money could be use to help the poor Malays and narrow the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. If this is done instead, I believe all Malaysians would be a lot happier.

I think an important criteria for a PM position should be one who has been in the position as Finance Minister for at least one full term. Otherwise, how can someone runs a country without any experience about managing finances? I don't think I would want to have someone managing my company when he doesn't know about the financial aspects of things....even if he has financial advisers, it is not the same as first hand knowledge you possess yourself. Most actions would be exploratory and he will be using my company's finances to grope around and learn...same thing for a PM of a country. Can we afford that?

Unfortunately, we don't always vote for or pick the most suitable candidates. We tend to vote/pick with 'other intentions' in mind. Some of our neighbours are worst, they pick with their emotions/heart as we have seen actors and 'cowboys' who when elected were like a messiah to the country but later ousted and hated by the same people who voted them in. People don't think of voting for suitable candidates who can do their jobs but people whom they like.

Ahhhh.what are we complaining about? We are guilty of the same :-(.

I think the honeymoon period is over.

The meeting between the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and some 20 government officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) and finance ministry, among others, raised more questions than answers.

Check out Msiakini account:
Half-bridge: The high cost of indecision at
http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2006/06/rm730-million-taxpayers-money-for.html

RM740 million, tht's a lot of money..many things can be done with that money..what a waste!!

Jeff,
Please prepare your yourself for more price increases and further change your life styles.
Jeff, did you read the article in the latest Edge about the Malay Agenda by Gunasegaran.Do you think it will make a good topic for you blogg?

Can Mahathir be blamed for wanting answers?
The board of directors in Gerbang Perdana S/B(whoever the jerks maybe) are making fellow citizens pay for work not done - and this is 'supposedly' a Malaysian company?
Long live the King & 'beautiful Malaysia', where stupidity prevails!
Wonder how many Cabinet Kakis are involved in this tragedy? Maybe the producer of 'The Last Komunis' should start a TV series titled 'Yes Abdullah'!
Cheers to our beloved Boleh Land - a silent requiem perhaps?

how else would these fellas survive if not with the help of rm740mil. Semua harga naik. Sorry lah Brudder. Someone has to help these fellas and the RAKYAT has be chosen. Consider ourselves as the privileged for we can serve these fellas and their lifestyles.

Scenic Bridge, Ipp's, proton, navy ships, government car lease, 15 year dredging of ports in Malaysia given to Syed Mokht controlled company and many more, started on the wrong foot by previous administration. And they all have hefty compensation clause in the event of cancellation. Just to manage these ill conceived plans will take a significant amount of time, effort and cost. The next few years will be just that, swallowing the mistakes done in the past. Just for reference, cancellatio cmpensation for govenment car lease contract is RM400mil/for navy ships, RM2 billion. Now the person who badly plan and rushed the projects, Madhatter (a nickname singaporeans gave him) is asking for answers. I say put him on trial for incompetency. then we will get all our answers.

IN www.malaysia-today.net it says that it would cost us rm1.13bil for the bridge and rm1.12bil for no bridge. Arent we a smart lot. Are we still churning out graduates by the tons? Someone pls use those money n buy a good calculator.

AKu Aje Bodoh is a new tagline. See how many more dumbos gonna jump onto this s(t)inking ship and cast their support. It makes the whole cabinet look stupid. All YES MINISTERS. To lose rm100mil for nothing is plain stupid. TO lose RM740mil is just out of this world. With that kind of money Msia could host the next world cup and then we can proudly say that WE ARE IN THE WORLD CUP. Eat that Singapore!

People, let's not ponder on Gerbang Perdana's humanity and love for Malaysia. It's irrelevant. The blame lies squarely on Pak Lah and his merry band of backers. If you have a selfish government who will not hesitate to jual this country hidup-hidup, of course the bargain hunters will queue up for their handouts. If the government tells GP, "Eyyy, want 700mill ah?" there is no way in hell they will say, "Umm, nevermind lah, better feed the poverty stricken people of Malaysia." It's the stinking government that is to blame. Asking us to change our lifestyle... bullshit. You know, all said and done, I really really really want to know who is calling the shots. I am bloody sure that some scumbag is conciously steering the ship towards the iceberg. Many would jump the gun and say KJ, but really, I'd like to know this. I don't believe it's Pak Lah. He seems to lack conviction to do anything, good or bad.

Dear commenter by the name of "sydput"

Your wrote: "Madhatter (a nickname singaporeans gave him) is asking for answers."

Are you Singaporean? Or Singapore agent?

Govt car rental: RM 3000 per month for Proton Wira 1.5 Manual. Can anyone check what car rental companies are offering? On top of that I think Spanco (the "concession company") probably do not have to pay tax on the cars. The agreement is that the cars are supposed to be replaced every 5 years or after a certain mileage, but the company can ask for an "extension".

I cannot understand why our country allows this to happen:

1. The Prime Minister's one and only one son is using the father's influence to become a big corporate bigwig and making millions.
2. The Prime Minister's one and only one son-in-law is using the father-in-law's influence to become a corporate honcho and making millions.

The people of this country should demand and force them to behave with a high standard of ethics:

1. Resign from their positions and withdraw their shareholdings, or
2. Withdraw their companies from government projects and nullify immediately all government contracts that have been awarded

The Prime Minister and his family have the moral duty to set a good example for this country, especially for the young generation.

So again tax payers are working hard for the money, and the money goes through the drain. Not entirely, as some contractor gets money without doing anything.

Isn't that a smart profession?

Now every PM in every country throws money through the drain.

If you really want to talk about transparency: then just write down all the money that goes in and all the money that goes out, and we know exactly how tax payers money is used.

Now give me 1 country that does this? Nevertheless if your boss gives you petty cash, don't you have to account for it?

Why is a country not governed by common bussiness standards? Why do we preach at home: spend what you have and spend it wisely?

I am rather confused. TDM now looks like a saint while AAB is portrayed as the demon. At least that's the impression I get reading the blogs and comments.

In my mind both are demons. Only difference is who is the greater or even smarter demon?

TDM wants answers from AAB. But what about himself? Doesn't he have a lot of explaining to do himself?

Jeff, can you or someone out there point me to info on the background of the whole crooked bridge mess?

I'd like to know the full story in order to decide who's to blame for each item within the RM740million.

Surely, AAB's effing brainless flip-flop and spineless "do-nothing-and-hope-the-problem-goes-away" approach is why we have to pay the RM100m. But what about the other items?

> RM280 million to build a permanent eight-tiered overhead road connecting the new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex in Johor Baru and the Causeway;

> RM190 million to build other flyovers and connecting roads to the elevated highway;

> RM170 million in payments for work done on the project before it was called off; and

The 1st 2 items total RM470m. My question is why was the new CIQ built ahead of the decision on the bridge? Because it's already built (is it?) you have to build the effing roads and flyovers. Do we need the new CIQ by itself OR is it required only if the bridge is built?

What work was done on the project before it was called off? When did the work start? In January when AAB revived the bridge? Or before AAB became PM in 2003? What did they do to incur RM170m worth of work in 3 months.

While it's easy to sensationalise the no-bridge RM1.12bil vs the got-bridge RM1.13bil (see groo's comment), I think there's more to it than meets the eye. Can someone do a deeper analysis? Are we comparing apples to apples?

Sorry, don't mean to take sides - as I said upfront, both are demons - I just felt I needed more background info to decide for myself.

PS: I think that it's good that TDM is making all the noise. At least it's bringing issues to the surface and getting people to think & discuss. At the end of the day, his ranting may even incriminate him (my prediction)

PPS: Anyone noticr TDM say this in yesterday's
star?
"Dr Mahathir said he did not understand the need to reverse decisions on certain mega projects.

With more than RM300bil in the national reserve, and RM300bil in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), he said the Government could afford such projects.
"

The bugger thinks EPF is gomen punya wang. Bloody effing idiot!!!

If the government can say "Rakyat, change your lifestyle!" Why can't the government say "Gerbang Perdana, change your lifestyle!"???

With regards to seeevil666:

>> The 1st 2 items total RM470m. My question is why was the new CIQ built ahead of the decision on the bridge? Because it's already built (is it?) you have to build the effing roads and flyovers. Do we need the new CIQ by itself OR is it required only if the bridge is built?

Work has started on the CIQ, but it has not completed yet. The current administration has decided to continue with its construction despite not having the bridge. The roads are sort of like a replacement for the bridge. The decision to build them was also made by the current administration. I believe the reason for the expensive roads is to facilitate the linkage of the new CIQ to the old bridge. Complete waste of money if you ask me.

>> What work was done on the project before it was called off? When did the work start? In January when AAB revived the bridge? Or before AAB became PM in 2003? What did they do to incur RM170m worth of work in 3 months.

Work started earlier this year when AAB decided to revive the project. In short, you can safely lay the blame on him.

Thanks w4t3v4.

"The roads are sort of like a replacement for the bridge."
Is that correct? I thought the bridge was for better water quality in the Straits.

Someone suggested abandoning the CIQ if it's really not necessary. And if you say it's half done, just call it off lah! I don't see the wisdom of building the CIQ and spending further RM470m for connections to the old Causeway. wtf if AAB govt no money, just abandon it lah. Convert it to an enormous disco if you have to!!

Then again the profit on the 470m will be very handy for either of the 2 demons (deoending on whose crony the contractor is). If AAB's crony, upcoming GE campaign funds; if TDM's crony, war chest to oust AAB. Either way pelanduyk like us die.

Hey fellas, don't forget, after putting in another RM373 million, we still don't get a bridge.

Our children will merely inherit a "cynic" half bridge and an eyesore for generations to come.

hidup BN, hidup BN..

no matter what happened, i believed most of you is BN voters, you deserved all this shit

July 1996: The idea to replace the Causeway with a bridge was mooted by then Prime Minister Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The bridge was aimed at easing traffic congestion in Johor Baru, and to improve water quality and reduce pollution in the Johor Straits.

Sept 26, 1998: Gerbang Perdana was incorporated, and has an authorised share capital of RM50mil. It is owned by a consortium of three shareholders – Merong Mahawangsa Sdn Bhd (60%), DRB-Hicom Berhad (20%), and Detik Nagasari Sdn Bhd (20%)

December 1999: Gerbang Perdana submitted a privatisation proposal for the Southern International Gateway project to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU). The proposal was to replace the Causeway with a bridge and redevelop the existing Customs, Immigration and Quarantine facilities, including improvement to the existing road network in the Johor Baru central business district.

October 2002: When the water issue was separated from the package of bilateral issues, Singapore called off talks on the bridge plan.

February 2003: Ground Breaking Ceremony for the construction of the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ)

August 2003: Malaysia announced it would unilaterally build its half of the bridge. This time the CIQ was 15% complete. Bridge works began.

December 2003: All earthworks and preliminary works for the integrated CIQ complex have been completed, while piling works are nearing completion. As for the building works, casting of beams, lift cores, retaining walls and columns are ongoing. The first beam for the integrated CIQ complex was launched on 2nd December 2003.

Details on progress: progresses

January 2004: Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia would present a new bridge proposal to Singapore. He said Malaysia was still interested in building a straight bridge instead of a “crooked” one.

February 2004: Singapore said it could only agree to the bridge if there was a balance of benefits for both sides. Singapore reportedly wanted Malaysia to sell sand for its reclamation works and to allow its jetfighters to use Malaysian airspace as a trade-off for it to agree to the proposal.

February 2004: All earthworks and piling works for the CIQ complex have been completed. Precast column, beam and slab construction are proceeding and reinforced concrete works for lift cores and retaining walls are in progress. Advance works for the Road Bridge involving rock filling to strengthen seabed and offshore stone column installation works have been fully completed. For the Cable Stayed Section, piling works are in progress and a test pile loaded to a maximum of 3750 tonnes has been successfully carried out.

Feb 5, 2004: The government directed GPSB to stop work on the seabed study in 2004 to allow both Malaysia and Singapore to hold negotiations on the new bridge project across the Tebrau Strait.

October 2005: Singapore’s lukewarm response prompted Malaysia to pursue the idea of a “crooked bridge” on the Malaysian side.

Jan 18, 2006: Gerbang Perdana received work order from gov to resume seabed study. Yahya said the study, which was carried out by GSPB's consultant was part of its preparation, pending the government's decision to build a full or half bridge.

Jan 27, 2006: Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the Government was expected to issue a letter of intent to the Gerbang Perdana consortium to proceed with the project. He said the instructions came from Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar. This time the CIQ was 80% complete.

Jan 31, 2006: Abdullah said Malaysia was going ahead with its plan to build a bridge across its half of the Johor Straits as any delay would incur more cost. He said that while the construction of the RM640mil bridge was going ahead, negotiations to get Singapore to complete the project would continue.

Somewhere in January: When Malaysia unilaterally went ahead with the project, Singapore warned that the construction of the bridge would have "serious implications" without elaborating

March 10, 2006: Contractor had commenced initial structural work on the new scenic bridge

April 12, 2006: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in a statement the government has decided not to proceed with the construction of the bridge in Johor to replace the Causeway. "The government's decision was made after taking into account the voices and sentiments of the Malaysian people as a whole especially on the supply of sand and air space," he said in a one-paragraph statement. "The Public Works Department has issued a stop work directive to Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd, the contractor of the bridge. They have been told to stop work from 4pm yesterday (April 12, 2006) onwards." - Samy.

April 13, 2006: A six-lane flyover will be constructed to link the RM1.2 billion Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex with the Johor Causeway, says Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. He said the flyover, to be aligned with existing roads linking the causeway, would be completed simultaneously with the completion of the CIQ by Sept 31. The CIQ is 90% complete and will be ready in five months time," he said, adding that the flyover will be a permanent road, replacing the temporary road which currently links the CIQ and the causeway. Samy Vellu said under Clause 40 of the agreement with the contractor, the government will have to fork out RM1 million for each month of delay on the bridge project.

The compensation of RM100million was refering to Clause 40. For a delay of 712 days (about 101.7 weeks).

From Gerbang Perdana website, in fact the CIQ has never stopped work and will continue work till they handover in Sept 2006. The bride started work in Aug 2003 and stopped in Feb 5, 2004. Revived in Jan 18, 2006, cancelled in April 12, 2006. The RM250million flyover bridge that connects to the CIQ is an alternative for the cancellation of the crooked bridge, because if there is in going traffic there must be out going traffic.

First of all, someone from the gov must have agreed to the terms. There was no competition so they (the developer) can come out with whatever conditions they like to protect their business. And the gov was so stupid to accept it. If there were other competition, then the ball game would be very different then. Secondly, what is more frust is the gov knew they were paying RM1 million per month for delaying the project since the Feb 5, 2004 when they issue stop work order, and not doing anything until it has accumulated to RM100million. Indeed, this is easy money for Gerbang. Developers are the best. When they can't complete the project, they run away with your money. When you causes the delay you have pay them millions. When they delay, nothing is going to happen. Whoever are the demons, someone benefits and the citizens bears the costs!

Let's start a list...

Mahathir's men vs Pak Lah's men...in UMNO...
who is in which camp?

any takers?

I would like to add...

When Samy said the penalty was RM1 million per month, for 712 days of delay is about 24 months. Which means the compensation should be RM24 million instead of RM100 million? Or the actual penalty is RM1 million per WEEK??? Can someone clarify this?

Barisan Nasional - When you steal, please at least steal with finesse.

Great work Streetz! You're the man!

Next, can someone tell us which ministries / ministers ought to have been involved in the project? Surely, Semi Value's Works Ministry is a prime player. Who else? What about the EPU?

And when did AAB assume leadership?

What I'm getting at is When and Who. After we've established the timeline (thanks to Streetz), we need to fill in the names of the damn idiots responsible for this effing big mess.

And then make sure each and every voting-eligible Malaysian knows these names from now till AAB calls the GE.

Off the top of my head, the entire Cabinet is effing useless. All spineless yes-men who should be banished to the paddy fields where they can do what they do best - sway with the wind!

Streetz, you seem very resourceful. Care to help out again?

Streetz:
Your timeline is very useful for discussion and arriving at conclusions ,esp wrt responsibility of the parties involved.

I refer to two, viz:

(1)February 2003: Ground Breaking Ceremony for the construction of the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ)

August 2003: Malaysia announced it would unilaterally build its half of the bridge. This time the CIQ was 15% complete. Bridge works began.

(1)The CIQ project definitely started well within Dr Mahathir's Premiership as he stepped down from Nov 1, 2003.

(2) This was just about 2 months before Dr Mahathir stepped down, with Pak Lah taking over on Nov 1, 2003.
In which case, the Contracror for th job - Gerbang Perdana, would have been decided by Dr Mahathir's Cabinet...(I'm assuming Gerban Perdana all along handled this project unless there had BEEN A CHANGE in contyractorship?
So whose responsibility would I pin on for the UNFAVOURABLE TERMS (to the people/Negaraku) gieven top the contractor? Dr Mahathir, then the PM still...

Thanks Streetz, pls continue your detailed collation of info, I'd help out wherever I can...

streetz - "When Samy said the penalty was RM1 million per month, for 712 days of delay is about 24 months. Which means the compensation should be RM24 million instead of RM100 million? Or the actual penalty is RM1 million per WEEK??? Can someone clarify this?"
Yes, please, someone. This is one thing that was bothering me too.

I would like to offer my solution to the problem.

First get gerbang perdana to sign a waiver letter for the payment of the work not done and at the same time award them with other govt projects. 2nd threaten them, their directors and all related parties that they will not gain a single future project if they dont sign. 3rd use ISA. haha

Well, for me, I think the BIGGEST culprit is the one that sign the initial contract without much study of its implication and at such an unfavorable term, without even a glance at its feasibility.

Get the witch-hunt going, and the next idiot will think twice before blowing the taxpayer money on thin air.

"The people of this country should demand and force them to behave with a high standard of ethics:

1. Resign from their positions and withdraw their shareholdings, or
2. Withdraw their companies from government projects and nullify immediately all government contracts that have been awarded"

Can't do that. They can always use nominees...

"First of all, someone from the gov must have agreed to the terms. There was no competition so they (the developer) can come out with whatever conditions they like to protect their business. And the gov was so stupid to accept it."

You think so? Some people obviously became very rich from these. These constant mistake of one sided negotiations are happening once too often. Think about it.

Seems like everyone is/was getting very rich from this 'crooked bridge' (pun intended) saga.

Everyone is guilty in my opinion, of making some money. And,if one 'turn's off my tap' (in Cantonese it means turns off the money supply), obviously the affected party will scream murder. So, it is quilty for all.

Next election, I will get some more oppositions in the govt as a check and balance.