KUALA LUMPUR (March 15): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the names of companies taking part in tenders for government projects should not be made known to stop individuals from using public office to enrich themselves.

This method was adopted at a tender committee meeting he attended earlier on Wednesday (March 15) to decide on  a “major project”, Anwar said at the 50th anniversary dinner of the Real Estate Housing and Developers’ Association.

“I told them to come to a decision and that the companies should not be named — just company A, B, C," he said, adding that decisions should be made purely based on the capabilities, track record and financial capabilities.

“I think that is a good start for us because otherwise, it would be other than wise,” he quipped.

Anwar said if the tenders involve projects such as Jana Wibawa, then it should be given to Bumiputera companies through a selective process, but that process must be transparent.

“If it is like the Jana Wibawa, the process must also be transparent. Bumiputera A, B, C, then you decide without knowing [the identities of the companies],” he said.

“I understand, more than ever, that corruption is endemic if not systemic in this country,” he added.

In recent times, Malaysia’s political stage has experienced a flurry of turbulence after a component party of Perikatan Nasional (PN), Bersatu, found itself in hot water over the Jana Wibawa programme.

The Jana Wibawa programme was introduced during Bersatu president and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration to expedite project execution post Covid-19 pandemic. To facilitate the implementation, the government resorted to either pre-qualification tenders or direct awards.

Earlier this month, Muhyiddin was slapped with four graft charges, and three for money laundering relating to bribes Bersatu received from corporate entities. He pleaded not guilty.

This came after the PN chairman was arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission after he appeared to record his statement to complete the anti-graft watchdog’s investigation process regarding the Jana Wibawa programme.

This also followed a spate of corruption charges against his party members in relation to the programme.

In February, former Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan and the party’s Segambut division deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad were charged in court with soliciting and accepting bribes of up to millions in ringgit in relation to the Jana Wibawa programme. The pair pleaded not guilty.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said told the Dewan Rakyat recently that 56 projects under Jana Wibawa received letters of acceptance with a cumulative contract value totalling RM6.3 billion.

Of those, RM5.7 billion worth of projects have been postponed, subject to a review of the procurement process, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.