City Hall: There was no double billing

Lim Lip Eng has submitted the documents to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission

Anwar Mohd Zain says the repair work was awarded to three contractors

Source: http://streets.nst.com.my/Current_News/Streets/Monday/Stories/20091123085325/Article/ By Noel Achariam

Kuala Lumpur: City Hall did not double bill a contract job to repair a collapsed drain in Jalan Gallagher, Bukit Tunku, as alleged by Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng. Lim had on Friday submitted two documents on an alleged double billing by City Hall amounting to RM186,000 to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)'s Federal Territory branch office. Lim had said on Friday that he suspected there might have been foul play and misappropriation of funds by City Hall. "The invoices are both identical except for one minor detail. One of the invoices states that rectification work was done at phase one and the other invoice states that work was done at phase three. "We are not sure if City Hall had made payment to two different contractors for only one job. We hope that this is not the case," he said.

When asked to comment, City Hall corporate communication director Anwar Mohd Zain said it had hired three different contractors to repair the drain, a rectification project that cost RM278,010. As City Hall can only give each contractor a contract not exceeding RM100,000, the work was awarded to three contractors, said Anwar. "The RM278,010 project cost was divided into three payments of RM92,670. That was the reason the project had to be done in phases," he said. The collapsed drain had caused a landslip in January. The residents in Jalan Gallagher had complained to City Hall about the landslip and collapsed drain in their area, said Anwar. "City Hall responded to the complaint and hired the contractors to rectify the problem. Work started on Jan 15 and ended on March 5," he said.
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