Gerakan urges government to extend open tender to all projects

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan has urged the government to extend open tender to all government projects to increase revenue and increase transparency.

The party’s vice-president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said on May 24 there should be fair and equal opportunities for eligible companies or conglomerates to bid for government land to develop so that the government, as the guardian of the people's interest, can extract maximum benefits or value out of such open and transparent exercises.

Hence, Mah said the party was pleased with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s assertion that he favoured an open tender of government land for development.

Recently, Najib said the government would unlock the strategic value of its idle or under-utilised land to boost the country’s economy. The move would involve the private sector and government-linked companies developing the land.

The government would identify strategic parcels of land to be offered for the initiative, which would include those belonging to the Malaysian Rubber Board in Sungai Buloh and government land in Jalan Cochrane and Jalan Ampang Hilir in Kuala Lumpur.

“Gerakan is against any non-transparent deals to develop government land. An open tender system is the best way,” said Mah.

Mah proposed that to dispel public perception of favouritism, nepotism or cronyism, the call for an open tender of government land should be order of the day and be listed on a special government portal.

In this way, the public can scrutinise the award of the tender and hold government accountable for its decision, he said.