Company constructing Penang undersea tunnel denies overpaying consultancy fees

GEORGE TOWN: The company constructing three highways and a proposed undersea tunnel in Penang today dismissed suggestions that it overpaid the consultancy fee.
Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli (pix) said the Feasibility Study and Detailed Design (FSDD) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) cost RM305 million.
Out of that, he said professional fees for civil and structural (C&S) works was RM129.612million which worked out to 2.36% of the cost of the project.
He said this percentage was within the Board of Engineers (BEM) Malaysia scale of fees where a maximum 2.54% can be charged.
He said the total fee of RM305 million included several elements including the civil, structural and geo-technical engineering design, land tunnel design and social impact study among others.
Zarul said some of the scope of works for the four projects, costing RM6.341billion, were highly technical and so foreign consultants were engaged to conduct specialist studies.
He said the fees for them were hard to be benchmarked as Malaysian professional institutions do not have the standard scale of fees to be referred to.
"Their fees had to be benchmarked against international standard fees," he said in a press conference with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today after Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan questioned the matter on Tuesday.
Zarul also referred to a 2016 Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) Penang chapter report which noted the RM305 million for the FSSD and EIA for the four projects was "reasonable and competitive; and within the scale of fees stipulated by BEM".
He said the consortium had on April 6 this year briefed Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusoff, the Works Department and the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) on the issue.
"There were no adverse statements, remarks or comments raised during the briefing," he added.
Zarul, who is Sungai Besi Umno branch member, also pointed out Abdul Rahman had raised the issue seven times since 2016 and described the attacks on the projects as a "relentless onslaught against me", adding he was a genuine businessman and not an Ali-Baba (rent seeker).
When asked, he said he would not take legal action against his party colleague.
"I have ethics, I am an Umno member and I will not sue another Umno member," he said.
Zarul also said he was not afraid if Abdul Rahman lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC), noting there were already previous reports.
He said he and his company have cooperated fully with the anti-graft body adding that he was also not afraid of meeting with Abdul Rahman on the matter.
"Why not? I am not afraid. The minister and his officers, other ministers and Umno chiefs all know me," he said.