PETALING JAYA: Two contracts worth RM170mil involving the Housing and Local Government Ministry were apparently awarded via direct negotiations without the minister's knowledge. Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin (pic), who retained her post after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government six months ago, said she was unaware of the contracts involving her ministry. "The two projects approved to the ministry during the previous administration were done outside my knowledge. Altogether, 20 ministries were involved in the 101 government projects that were awarded via direct negotiation during Pakatan’s administration from May 2018 to February this year. The Finance Ministry, however, stated thata there were five conditions where direct negotiations were permitted, including an urgent need where tenders could not be conducted immediately as well as compatibility issues.

Source: The Star August 27, 2020 05:37 UTC