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Najib Says George Kent Best for LRT Job Posted: 27 Sep 2012 11:06 AM PDT Najib: George Kent is fit for LRT job Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Abdul Razak has come to the defence of construction company George Kent, which was alleged to have failed competency tests but was still given the Ampang Line LRT extension project. The premier argued that George Kent's joint venture with Lion Pacific was fit for the RM1.084 billion tender. In a written reply to a question by Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara) in Parliament on Tuesday, Najib said George Kent consortium had passed technical evaluation and it also offered the second lowest price among the eight bidders. "GKLP JV (George Kent-Lion Pacific Joint Venture) is a combination of local companies with financial ability and are listed in Bursa Malaysia. "The bidder that offered a price lower than GKLP JV was not considered because it did not completely meet the contract criteria," Najib said. He said the bidding result was accepted by other international bidders and they showed no sign of disgruntlement. Najib also rebutted the allegation that George Kent has no experience in railway construction because the consortium, comprising various local companies, has expertise in the railway subsystem while the signalling subsystem will be managed by Thales, a technical partner with high credibility. The tender, he explained, also took into consideration the need to develop local companies and vendors in high technology industries by involving them directly in projects such as the LRT extension. The prime minister also stressed that the tender process had been open and transparent. However, the DAP member for Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua, at a press conference in the Parliament lobby today quoted a report from The Edge to rebut Najib's reply. The report said one of the bidders, Siemens, was not happy with the tender result. Pua urged the Finance Ministry to explain in greater detail its reasons for giving the contract to the George Kent consortium. For the full story on Malaysiakini, click here.

Ministry of Education Should Make Available Full Reports Posted: 15 Sep 2012 04:33 AM PDT Opposition MPs call for release of detailed reports on current education system By Lisa J. Ariffin September 14, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) today urged Putrajaya to disclose detailed reports on the current education situation to encourage constructive criticisms and recommendations to its new education blueprint. Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua were referring to UNESCO's April 2011 review of Malaysia's education system, the World Bank's report on the country's expenditure and two other reports on education by a local as well as international review panel. Nurul Izzah and Pua believed access to detailed reports on weaknesses in the current education system would enable the public to make necessary and relevant recommendations on the new education masterplan, which will run from 2013 to 2025. "Our biggest worry is on its (blueprint) credibility. The Education Ministry has not highlighted the weaknesses of current education system including a detailed report," Nurul Izzah told a press conference. She said the ministry had instead "given glossy view of things". "This is not sufficient to convince these are necessary steps to improve the quality of the system," she said, referring to the 11 "shifts" comprising the report. The education masterplan comprises 11 "shifts" to inculcate six attributes in children: knowledge, thinking skills, leadership, bilingual proficiency, ethics and national identity. The shifts include empowering state and district education departments and schools to customise solutions based on need and recruiting only the top 30 per cent of graduates for teacher training. Pua said relevant documents were needed in order for the public to contribute constructively. "We will submit our report in October. Without documents, the report won't be as comprehensive," he said, referring to PR's feedback report on the blueprint. "We're not here to condemn but to make it better for future generation," he added. The two opposition leaders also announced the formation of a Pakatan Rakyat Education Taskforce (PET), consisting of nine leaders across the coalition, to study and respond to Putrajaya's blueprint. "Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said to de-politicise education. We hope our recommendations are also included in the blueprint and implemented to improve the education system," Pua said. In the new masterplan launched on Tuesday, Malaysia aims to be in the top third of the Programme For International Student Assessment (PISA) test within the next 13 years. The country is currently ranked in the bottom third. The education masterplan report is available for free from the Education Ministry website. For the full story on The Malaysian Insider, click here.

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