By Ling Hui
KUCHING, March 6: The open tender system for federal and State-funded projects in Sarawak needs to be refined, said Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
He said only competent Sarawak contractors should be awarded projects.
“The stumbling block used to be (the struggle to) fight for funding. I never expected it to be non-performing contractors,” he lamented.
Dr Sim referred to the Batu Kawa Road safety concrete barrier project awarded to a contractor in August last year, which was supposed to be completed in November.
However, the four-package project with a total budget of RM2 million had not started or proceeded according to schedule.
Dr Sim, who is also Minister of Public Health, Housing, and Local Government, said he was told by Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak that the contractor only showed progress of 10 to 25 per cent with the deadline extended to May 21, 2022 after being issued a warning letter for the third time.
“Is it fair to give all these under-performing local contractors so many opportunities? Should we extend the open tender to outside Sarawak?
“Who is going to take responsibility for the safety of the users of Jalan Batu Kawa?” he questioned in a social media post yesterday.
Meanwhile, Dr Sim urged JKR Sarawak to monitor and manage traffic flow to minimise inconveniences to road users during peak hours. — DayakDaily
