MoF unit's board, Irwan responsible for lopsided pipeline deals: Lim

PETALING JAYA: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today the board of directors of Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER) and Tan Sri Irwan Serigar in particular are responsible for the one-sided terms of the three-year long Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline and Multi-Product Pipeline projects, which saw 88% of the project value drawn down based on timing milestones that were just months apart, resulting in the bulk of the monies paid out within a year.
Irwan was Treasury secretary-general and chairman of SSER.
According to the payment schedule released by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) today, the RM5.35 billion Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP) project saw a drawdown of RM2.67 billion for the design, procurement and supply (DPS) contract, representing 95% of the total contract value, to China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau, which was awarded the projects in November 2016.
The first payment was made on May 9, 2017, and subsequent disbursements were made within a time span of less than a year.
For the construction and commissioning (CC) contract, RM2.04 billion, or 80.75% of the total contract value, has been paid as at March 20, 2018.
It can be seen that the pace of drawdown was quicker after the second payment, with a gap of only three months from five months initially.
Similarly, the RM4.06 billion Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project's payment schedule was based on timing milestones for both the DPS and the CC contracts, with payments of RM1.81 billion and RM1.73 billion, respectively.
The drawdown for the DPS contract stood at 95% as at April 2, 2018, while 80.75% has been paid out for the CC contract as at March 20, 2018.
No details were given as to how the payment schedule was determined. Construction firms typically bill according to work progress.
Lim said the lopsided contracts have clearly jeopardised the interests of Malaysians and the government.
"In addition, we would welcome the former finance and prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who has been active on Facebook recently, to explain how he could possibly approve the above transactions," he added.
MoF, as the sole shareholder of SSER, said it will be taking steps to take control of the company pending investigations.