Chua Guan Cheong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Hj Abdul Wahab was the 10th witness called by the prosecution against Pg Indera Wijaya Pg Dato Dr Hj Ismail, who is facing 11 charges of corruption.
The case revolves around the 1995 project of the State Mufti Building and Dewan Sultan Hj Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien “Earthworks” projects, which was supposed to be completed within eight months.
The Ministry of Development accepted a tender by contractor TED Sdn Bhd (TED) allegedly despite professional counsel advising otherwise.
TED quoted the cheapest price to complete the project, but professional quantity surveyors hired to review tenders spotted an “arithmetic” error, which when corrected ran the project over the budget stipulated in the offer.
In his statement, Hj Abdul Wahab said he believed the Istana Project Supervisor (IPS), which coordinated the tenders, was under the Ministry of Development.
He added that it did not make any difference to his duties or those of the Project Management Team (PMT) whether a particular PWD project was designated an IPS project or whether the work was instructed by the Ministry of Development or IPS, or both.
The one obvious difference between IPS and PWD projects, Hj Abdul Wahab explained, was that tenders for IPS projects were received and opened by the IPS, whereas tenders to the PWD were normally sent to the State Tender Board.
He said that all tenders were then referred to the PMT for technical and financial evaluation and recommendation.
Hj Abdul Wahab also corroborated the testimony of eighth witness Hjh Hajijah Hj Salleh, who testified on Wednesday that a recommendation signed by Chief Quantity Surveyor Hj Zulkipli Hj Abd Hamid was sent to IPS on October 2, 1995.
He also confirmed that he agreed with the recommendation to award the tender to Tang Sun Lee Sdn Bhd, not to TED.
Hj Abdul Wahab also said that the tender project was considered an urgent job, but TED’s 12-month bid was still accepted despite being four months longer than the stipulated eight months.
Tang Sun Lee’s bid, although more expensive, was based on completing the project of eight months.
Companies that take longer to complete a project should be cheaper, Hj Abdul Wahab explained, as they would require less manpower and equipment. Tang Sun Lee posted the next cheapest bid behind TED.
The day’s proceedings started with the cross examination of witness Hjh Hajijah by the defence, followed by a short statement and cross examination of ninth witness Hj Hamiddon Hj Mohd Said, an engineer at the PWD’s Department of Technical Services.
Hj Hamiddon said that Hj Abdul Wahab had discussed the penalties of withdrawing from the tender with TED at a meeting.
The penalties for withdrawing from a tender, Hjh Hajijah had explained earlier, included a possible ban on tendering for government contracts for a specified period.
The trial will resume on Saturday with Hj Abdul Wahab continuing his testimony.
Meanwhile, a warrant of arrest has been issued for Wong Tim Kai, who is also facing the same 11 charges of corruption, since he failed to present himself to the court on September 29.
Latest by The Brunei Times:
- BDFone to unveil 3 phone models
- Winner plans to market software to local artistes
- 18 youths detained in ‘Operasi Lepak'
- India's Independence Day flag hoisting on August 15
- TAP counters operating hours in Ramadhan
