'I've never been involved in tender process' - Pahang MB

Pahang Menteri Besar (MB) Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob on Monday said he had never been involved in any tender process in the state, let alone being the chairman of the state's Tender Committee.

In fact, Adnan said the situation had remained so since the day he took over the office of Menteri Besar in 1999, and that he had no plan to have it any other way.

"I always said this in our state executive council meeting or tender committee meeting that when people or certain companies obtained a tender or a contract...then only the MB will sign it.

"Many people think that the MB is the chairman of the tender committee, but he is not. Maybe in some states, the MB is the chairman of the committee, but not me. It's easier and less headache that way...when you are the chairman, people will come asking (for tenders) from you."

Adnan said this to reporters after opening the 1st Conference of Corporate Governance and Integrity jointly organised by Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) and Yayasan Pahang (YP) at the Yayasan Pahang Complex here today.

Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, UMP vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Daing Nasir Ibrahim, Yayasan Pahang general manager Datuk Mahmud Mohd Nawawi.

Adnan explained that the chairman of Tender Committee for contract involving state government allocation is the State Financial Office, and if the tender is worth more than RM3 million, the tender will be scrutinised by the state executive council.

"I always advised the executive council to be fair and just in making their decision and not to be biased," he said.

The menteri besar said so far he was satisfied with the tender process in Pahang as there was no major cases involving non-transparent tender process.

At the event, Adnan also launched the Anti-Bribery System Checklist developed by UMP and Pahang Foundation which aimed at assessing, detecting and preventing risks of bribery and misconduct among top management members, investors, staff and customers, as well as the government.

"We hope government agencies and government-linked companies will adopt the system as it can help preventing and reducing the risks of bribery," he added.-- BERNAMA