“I have asked that the projects be halted, and that they be re-examined so that there is a principle of transparency and also to comply with the rules that have been set,” – @anwaribrahimhttps://t.co/09qPf2K3CB
RM7 bil for flood mitigation on hold, subject to review: PM
MoF to re-examine funds okayed through direct negotiation for transparency, regulatory compliance
Updated 2 hours ago · Published on 06 Dec 2022 10:52AM
“I also emphasise that some of the recent approvals, including the approval of flood mitigation projects which are allocated somewhere around RM15 billion and RM7 billion have already been approved – without a regular tender process – through direct negotiations.
“I have asked that the projects be halted, and that they be re-examined so that there is a principle of transparency and also to comply with the rules that have been set,” he said during a press conference after clocking in on his first day as finance minister today.
The projects, he said, involved a significant allocation and the decision to approve them through direct negotiations was made with the pretext of solving the nation’s flood woes.
However, such actions, he added, will cause problems when they do not comply with the rules and open up room for certain parties to exploit. – The Vibes, December 6, 2022
Former environment and water minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has defended the ministry’s decision to award flood mitigation projects through a direct tender process.
In an immediate response to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who earlier today announced the halting of the projects, Tuan Ibrahim said the premier should know that the direct tender process was aimed at speeding up works in times of emergency.
“As the prime minister, he should not assume that all projects that are awarded through direct tender process as being improper and involve conflict of interests.
“He must understand that there are many emergency works that need to be carried out immediately in order to prevent a worse situation and inflict more losses.
“Thus, some projects had to be given through direct negotiation or direct offer, especially in cases of disasters such as floods, broken reservoirs (or burst dams), landslides, and so on.
“But, I would like to stress here that these projects still have to go through all the necessary financial procedures as required (by the government),” Tuan Ibrahim (above) said in a statement. .
Tuan Ibrahim said he believed that Anwar, who is also the finance minister, knew that direct tenders were given for flood mitigation projects that needed to be carried out immediately and such practices were not wrong.
“Besides the Environment and Water Ministry, all the processes involving financial procedures must go under strict scrutiny and must be done according to all the procedures and guidelines set by the Finance Ministry,” he added.
3. Government to slash special lottery draws to 8 from 22 a year. The government will also investigate whether income from lottery draws were used to finance elections.https://t.co/MLOQRAnBnI
"If Ukraine truly has the ability to send drones over 600 kilometers…" Spencer…"it will mean Russia will have to use a lot of resources…manpower, air defense capabilities, to defend a lot of sites they falsely believed were untouchable." @Newsweekhttps://t.co/MejDPKEe7C
. Drone strikes deep inside Russian territory reportedly carried out by Ukraine could cause some sleepless nights for those in Vladimir Putin‘s inner circle. .
This Newsweek graphic shows the areas inside Russia that were struck by what Moscow has said were drones sent by Ukraine. The strikes hit the Kursk, Ryazan and Saratov regions. Newsweek
“They very possibly just demonstrated a new capability to hit anywhere in Russia,” said retired U.S. Army Major John Spencer, a leading urban warfare expert, who described these strikes as a “very big moment in the war.” . “If Ukraine truly has the ability to send drones over 600 kilometers into Russia to strike at their strategic military capability,” Spencer told Newsweek, “it will mean Russia will have to use a lot of resources, [such as] manpower, air defense capabilities, to defend a lot of sites they falsely believed were untouchable.”
He said it showed weaknesses in Russian airspace and it was “very smart” for Ukraine to hit military locations, rather than the civilian infrastructure that Moscow’s forces have targeted, which has led to widespread blackouts.
“Now the Russian government must decide what capabilities, possibly out of Ukraine at least in the near term, have to be repositioned to prevent these types of attacks from happening again,” said Spencer, who is Chair of Urban Warfare Studies with the Madison Policy Forum.
Senior western officials cited by Reuters said on Tuesday that the attacks were the furthest inside Russia since the war began and so will have struck a “psychological blow, as Moscow would have to consider how to keep its long-range, nuclear-capable bombers safe. .
State-owned weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom has recently indicated it is close to finishing work on a new long-range drone. In October, it posted on Facebook what appeared to be the device’s structure which it said had a range of 1,000 km (620 miles), although there is no indication that the drone is ready for deployment.
“Ukraine likely has limited stocks of long-range drones but will almost certainly be rapidly developing more,” said former British military intelligence officer Philip Ingram.
He told Newsweek that Kyiv would want to counter Russia’s missile attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine “with deniable strikes back into Russia—not huge numbers, but enough to send a message that nowhere is safe.”
Marcel Van Herpen, the author of Putin’s Wars and director of the Dutch think tank, the Cicero Foundation, said that the strikes show Ukraine’s ability to organize a forward defense without the help of the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
What Russian Air Defense Doing? This is a big deal. Ukraine (allegedly 😉) uses a cheap drone to penetrate (thought to be impossible for decades) Russian airspace from over 600 Km away to damage a multi-million dollar Russian (Tu-22M3) bomber. Time to fire more Russian Generals. pic.twitter.com/7CRjNTGZtA
The attack on the airfield in Engels was carried out by the Soviet Tu-141 Strizh UAV, which easily overcame almost 650 km over the territory of Russia. This was announced by the Russian military voenkor Kots 🤡
From Anthony loke fb:- Petang tadi, saya meluangkan masa 2 jam untuk meninjau keadaan sebenar perkhidmatan LRT KJ line semasa peak-hour di antara pukul 5-7 petang.
Petang tadi, saya meluangkan masa 2 jam untuk meninjau keadaan sebenar perkhidmatan LRT KJ line semasa peak-hour di antara pukul 5-7 petang.
Keadaan cukup sesak dalam tren dan sudah tentu tidak selesa kepada penumpang.
Saya tidak memaklumkan kepada pihak pengurusan Prasarana dan pihak media kerana saya nak mengalami sendiri keadaan sebenar seperti penumpang-penumpang biasa untuk merasai apa yang mereka perlu lalui setiap hari.
Saya memahami kesulitan yang dihadapi oleh penumpang LRT. Saya akan mengadakan mesyuarat dengan pengurusan tertinggi Prasarana dalam minggu ini juga untuk membincangkan halatuju dan cara untuk menambahbaik perkhidmatan pengangkutan awam kita.
This afternoon, I spent 2 hours surveying the actual condition of the KJ LRT line service during peak-hour between 5-7pm.
Conditions were quite cramped on the train and certainly uncomfortable for the passengers.
I did not inform the Marketing management and the media because I want to experience the real situation myself like ordinary passengers to feel what they have to go through every day.…
