6 theSun | TUESDAY FEBRUARY 3 2009

news without borders

MACC clears Guan Eng

over hill railway repair
by Himanshu Bhatt
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister
Lim Guan Eng has been cleared
of running afoul of the law after
he directed state officers to
select a contractor outside an
open tender exercise because
the offer was cheaper.
Lim revealed that he was in
danger of being charged with
violating the Financial Procedure
Act 1957 when he authorised
an outside contractor to repair
the Penang Hill funicular cable
system.
“If you have a tender exercise,
you have to comply with the low-
est tender,” Lim said, explaining
the Act. “But despite the tender,
all the prices quoted were too
high. So I felt it was important to
save the government money. If
another reliable outside party can
offer even lower, we are willing
to accept.”
However, Malaysian Anti-
Corruption Commission (MACC)
state director Latifah Md Yatim
put the matter to rest after meet-
ing Lim at his office yesterday
and pointing out that the MACC
Act 2008 allowed for such a
move. She explained that the
MACC Act provided for such a
decision if it was done “without
malice” and in good faith for the
state’s “monetary benefit”.
Lim had announced in
December when reopening the
cable system that the state
received turnkey quotations of
Bus driver killed, 23 pupils
RM1.463 million, RM1.32 million
and RM920,000 in the tender
exercise.
However, through consulta-
tion with the representatives
of Penang Hill residents, NGOs,
volunteers and professionals,
hurt in crash
the state reviewed the replace- by Bernard Cheah
ment proposal and awarded the newsdesk@thesundaily.com
contract to a local at a quotation
of less than RM700,000. GEORGE TOWN: A group of chil-
The work was also done dren returning to school after the
in two months instead of six Chinese New Year holidays had the
months as quoted by the other shock of their lives when the bus
three contractors. they were in plunged into a river
“Yes, I took a risk. You have to yesterday, kill-
take risks if you want to save the ing the driver.
government money,” Lim told Koe Joon Some of the pupils who
reporters yesterday. “My inter- CVLB Huat, 48, lost were in the bus with their
est is to protect public money. his life after ap- parents at Penang Hospital.
We want to encourage people
says ‘yes’ parently losing
to offer the lowest with as high to school control of the
a quality.” bus vehicle when hand injuries. who was sitting
The funicular service on the he swerved to OCPD Asst behind Koe, said she
upper stretch of Penang Hill was
surcharge avoid a car on Comm Azam had noticed that he
stopped on June 25 last year pg 8 Grove Road Abdul Hamid appeared ill and was
due to protrusion of various near the state said Koe, who coughing.
wires from the cable. The cable mosque here sustained “He almost
supplier had advised a total stop in the 7.20am The school bus which plunged into h e a d knocked into the
to the service, and replacement incident. Sungai Air Itam. inju- vehicles in front
of the cable became necessary The bus ries, of us twice
when more wires protruded. plunged into Sungai Air Itam, died at the hospital. before the acci-
The state had to find its own sending the 23 children aboard He said a post mor- dent,” she said.
resource to replace the cable as screaming in terror. tem indicated that
the federal government was not The pupils, all from SJK(C) he had suffered Distraught ...
funding the cost of the repair on Chung Hwa Confucian, sustained an epileptic sei- Amelia Chia, 10,
the basis that upgrading work minor injuries and received outpa- zure. with her mother,
of RM40 million had been ap- tient treatment at Penang Hospital. Year 6 pupil cries after the
proved. Two were admitted with eye and Lee Tzu Jun, terrifying incident.

briefs
Ng urges welfare
homes to register
KUALA LUMPUR: Welfare homes that
have yet to register with the Welfare De-
partment (JKM) are urged to do so by the
end of the month to enable senior citizens
and orphans under their care to receive
financial aid from the government.
Women, Family and Community
Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng
Yen Yen said yesterday those who have
not registered with the department are
deemed to be operating illegally and can
be fined or have their homes sealed.
“If welfare homes managed by NGOs
are registered with JKM and undergo
inspection periodically to ensure they are
managed well, they are eligible to receive
RM8 a day as food and lodging subsidy for
individual under their care,” she said after
handing out hampers and ang pow to 108
senior citizens in conjunction with Chi-
nese New Year and the first anniversary of
Pavillion shopping complex. – Bernama
Body of foreigner found
in drain
MALACCA: The body of a foreigner,
believed to have been murdered, was
found in a drain at the Bukit Rambai
Industrial Park near here yesterday.
Malacca Tengah deputy police
chief Supt Wan Ahmad Wan Abas
said the unidentified body of a man,
believed to be in his 30s, was found
by passers-by at 6.45am.
“There were no identification docu-
ments on the body which had slash
wounds on his head and hands. We
have yet to ascertain the time of his
death or the motive for the murder.
He urged clinics and hospitals to
be on the look out for suspicious-
looking injured patients seeking
treatment at their clinic or hospital.
Those with information or know
of a missing person may contact 06-
2837801 or the nearest police station.
No teachers in
get-rich-quick schemes
SEMPORNA: The Education Ministry has
not received any report of teachers being
involved in get-rich-quick schemes.
Ministry director-general Datuk Al-
imuddin Mohd Dom, however, reminded
teachers yesterday not to get involved as
the schemes were illegal and would af-
fect their ability to perform their duties.
“Teachers should refrain from getting
involved in the schemes as they could
incur loses or face action under the law.”
Cuepacs secretary-general Ahmad
Shah Mohd Zin reportedly said as many
as 50,000 civil servants were actively
involved in the schemes. – Bernama
Robber shot dead by
goldsmith
SITIAWAN: A plucky goldsmith shot
dead a robber who was robbing his
jewellery shop in Kampung Koh with
three others here yesterday.
Manjung police chief ACP Mohd
Jamil Osman said the robbers were
busy scopping up the jewellery at
11.50am when the goldsmith, who
had a firearm, opened fired.
He said the shot hit one of the
three robbers who collapsed in a
pool of blood. – Bernama