Tony Pua - We need more MPs to highlight issues of concern to Malaysians

We certainly need more MPs like the Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua. 

Point out the issues that matter to Malaysians..., but the sad truth is that many MPs, even from the Pakatan Rakyat, has just gone 'missing' - we do not hear them highlighting issues of concern to the people of Malaysia. 

Blogging - that is one way of highlighting stuff - and getting your personal views known. But alas, many blogs do not even carry comments/views of the blogger - just a 'cut and paste' of some news report or statement. Give us your viewpoints. Take up issues. We need personalities with views/opinions not just faithful Anwar, Najib, Kit Siang, etc followers... One good  blogger MP  is Lim Kit Siang - he expresses his views. It is not good enough to paste a news report that mentions you, etc - what readers need is your full views, not just that selected, edited stuff  that papers report.

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua has vowed to reveal more discrepancies in the government's newly-launched MyProcurement website tomorrow.

"I am compiling it now and will be able to reveal the list tomorrow," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

His pledge comes just a day after he revealed a major blunder on the website, which lists government procurements through open tenders as part of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's initiative to promote transparency.

Yesterday, Pua questioned the purported RM6.5 billion contract awarded to a company to supply rations to the armed forces based in Perlis, Kedah and Penang over a period of three years.

Pua equated the incredulous figure with the cost of four Scorpene submarines, which he used as a tongue-in-cheek example because the navy already owns two of the vessels, procured through a controversial deal.

According to The Sun, the Defence Ministry conceded that it was responsible for supplying the wrong figures and that it would make a correction soon.

'Crony deals found' 

Pua said he was not surprised that there was an error in the figures and hoped that all data provided in the website will be properly scrutinised.

"Even I do not expect BN would do something like buying RM6.5 billion in food," said Pua sarcastically.

But because of this error, Pua said there is reason to now doubt the veracity of other information on the website.

"I'm 100 percent certain that this is not the only mistake. I am actually going through the data now and I have already found certain discrepancies," he said.

Pua promised that, among others, he would reveal "interesting crony deals" tomorrow.

The MyProcurement website was launched by Najib on April 1 with much fanfare, including promises of "real-time" information updated on an hourly basis.

Najib said that the website was launched to "boost transparency and to prevent any corrupt practices in the awarding of projects and procurement".

He said that beginning this month, successful bidders for government tenders must sign a declaration letter to pledge proper completion of projects and that they are "graft-free".

“This is our commitment to fight corruption and enhance government integrity. We want to show that we have the political will to rectify problems, unfair exercises and other negative issues related to the awarding of tenders and procurement dealings,” he said, according to Star on April 2. 

As at 3.35pm, the RM6.5 billion figure had been revised to RM6.5 million on the website.- Malaysiakini, 6/4/2010, MP to raise more doubts on tender website