THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called former transport minister Liow Tiong Lai to attend proceedings on issues with the vehicle entry permit (VEP) system between Johor and Singapore, which was awarded and implemented in 2015.

PAC deputy chairman Wong Kah Woh told The Malaysian Insight that they had asked Liow to attend the proceedings at Parliament at 2.30pm tomorrow.

“Following the rules of the meeting, we have sent a letter to him 10 days ago.

“However, Liow has confirmed he will attend, it will not be an issue,” he said at Parliament’s lobby today.

Liow had said the PAC has a political agenda to taint his reputation by linking him with the issues surrounding VEP but not calling him to clarify the matter.

The Auditor-General’s Report 2017 (second series) had questioned the implementation of the RM149.45 million system that not only saw a drastic hike in operational expenditure, but was also awarded through direct negotiations to TCSens.

Former prime minister Najib Razak was said to have been assured by Liow that the contractor was capable and had the required expertise.

However, it was later learned that the contractor had no experience in the field and had only RM35.54 in its accounts instead of the required RM2.3 million.

It is understood that TCSens is linked to former MCA deputy secretary-general and ex-Tanjung Piai MP Wee Jeck Seng. Liow is former MCA president.

The project involved two contracts – Capital Expenditure Contract (Capex), worth RM45.15 million, and Operational Expenditure Contract (Opex), worth RM104.3 million.

TCSens also subcontracted Opex to a third party, despite not being allowed to do so.

Other irregularities included equipment worth RM4.07 million – such as barrier gates, cameras and fix readers – that was not installed. – March 26, 2019.