Anwar: Selangor should ‘ignore’ support letters
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor government to “ignore” all forms of recommendation letters for the purpose of securing government contracts for companies.
The de facto Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leader said that procurements of any government contacts should be awarded through a normal, open tender system and that the existing practice where MPs or state assemblymen issued letters of support to help secure contracts for various companies was “unnecessary”.
“The state government must ignore support letters that involve tenders, (with the intention of) securing it for companies.
“It is unnecessary for support letters to be used to secure government contracts for companies. it must go through a normal, open tender process,” Anwar told The Malaysian Insider yesterday.
But Anwar stopped short of urging the state government to abolish all forms of recommendation letters, claiming that the letters of support was still needed to assist constituents.
Anwar said that recommendation letters could help speed up the process of repairing public amenities.
“It depends on the situation, you cannot simply do away with support letters. if you are saying abolish support letters which involves influencing a tender process of awarding government contracts for companies, then it is okay.
“But there are people, constituents who need help sometimes in getting scholarships, or maybe fixing a broken drainpipe.
“As elected representatives and Members of Parliament, we have a responsibility to help these people. We have to help our constituents anyway we can… sometimes I get hundreds of letters in my office, support letters can sometimes facilitate the process of helping our constituents,” reasoned the 62 year-old Opposition leader.
DAP’s Teng admits issuing letters of support
SHAH ALAM, Aug 4 — Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Khim has admitted that all Pakatan Rakyat (PR) assemblymen in the state, including himself, had issued letters of recommendations for government contracts to contractors and the public.
But he claimed the practice was slowly being done away with.
“The issuance of recommendation letters are a grey area and is “old culture” which PR inherited from the previous administration,” said the Sungai Pinang assemblyman yesterday.
Teng said PR was caught in a quandary over the issue because he claimed civil servants sometimes insisted on these letters.
“Officers don’t want to be blamed if something goes wrong and contractors are caught in a predicament if they don’t get the letters of support.”
He said this was especially true after PR took over the Selangor administration in March 2008, when work including garbage collection came to a standstill because contracts were not being awarded.
He pointed out this was prior to the appointment of PR local councillors and he had no choice but to issue these letters of recommendations for contracts.
“But my letters of recommendation letters are for work in my constituency and all carry the condition that it should be subject to government policy and regulations,” he said.
Teng also claimed that in some circumstances government forms required the endorsement of PR state assemblyman and MPs. These includes the State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN) forms for new contractors, who want to be listed in their panel of contractors.
In other cases, local governments require endorsements by assemblymen before licenses for cybercafes are renewed in their constituency.
The Selangor PR government is coming under fire after it emerge that DAP councillor Tee Boon Hock had given a support letter to a company in which his son was a partner.
Tee was sacked by DAP’s disciplinary committee.
Meanwhile other PR assemblymen also confirmed that the letters of recommendation were a standard practice but one that they hoped to do away with.
“There are no guidelines now on recommendation letters and I support abolishing it,” said DAP Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh.
She confirmed that the situation was a mess after PR took over Selangor and work on the ground come to a standstill.
“I am not sure if this was because contracts were not being awarded but garbage went uncollected for some time.”
Yeoh pointed out that many government forms also required endorsement from PR assemblyman and MPs.
“Civil servants should just follow procedures instead of relying on endorsements from lawmakers.”
PAS Hulu Klang Assemblyman Saari Sungib also said he was uncomfortable with the practice.
However he said civil servants themselves initially insisted on it.
“When I confronted them, they told me it was because they wanted to know who my people were.” he said.
He admitted that members of the public and contractors continued to come to his office for recommendation letters.
“But the numbers are slowly being reduced because I have informed everyone that my endorsement is not necessary.”
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim today also told The Malaysian Insider that the practice was being discouraged.
“It gives a wrong expectation to both receiving the letters of support and those considering the application.” said the Selangor Mentri Besar.
However Khalid stopped short of issuing a total ban on the practice.
Instead he said civil servants would be directed to follow procedures regardless of whether applications came with letters of recommendations.
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