BUMIPUTERA contractors want Putrajaya to include them in the construction of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), their representative said today.

Malaysian Bumiputera Class F Contractor Association (PERKOBF) president Tukiman Radion said there was no room for them in the RM55 billion project that is supported by Chinese money and expertise.

“Currently, there is no acknowledgement of (Bumiputera) contractors in the ECRL project, so I think we would not have the chance.

“I urge the government to include us in the building of ECRL because it is a project worth RM55 billion. Even if we get RM1 million of it, that is already a lot for us,” he told The Malaysian Insight after the association’s annual general meeting this morning.

The 688km rail link will be the longest railroad in Malaysia and will connect Gombak in Selangor to Kota Baru in Kelantan in four hours. Prime Minister Najib Razak called it a “game changer” at its launch on August 9.

The ECRL will be built by the China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) and be 85% financed with a soft loan at 3.25% interest from the state-owned Exim Bank of China.

Najib said at least 30% of Malaysian contractors would be involved in the high-impact project.

Tukiman added that if the government is planning to include local contractors in the development of ECRL, they should have been notified about it by now.

“It is not just Bumiputera contractors but even local contractors have not been given a chance to take part in the project.

“There is no chance. No suggestion or opportunity given to local contractors.”

Tukiman also hoped that local conglomerates working on large-scale projects would allow small-scale contractors to participate in the development.

The project and launch ceremony drew flak from Malay rights group, Perkasa, whose secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali, pointed out that the lorries and heavy machinery for the project were all from China.

Perkasa was also unhappy that the launch was “too Chinese”, with flags and the ceremony all in Mandarin. It accused Najib of allowing Malaysia to be “colonised” through the economy. – August 15, 2017.