Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani said, however, contractors with a good track record in completing the projects, will be given priority for future government tenders.
He stressed that the government can no longer accept or continue to bear the losses whenever the contractors fail to deliver the projects as agreed.
“The standard practice is whenever we face problems with the contractors, we cannot ‘terminate’ them immediately as we have to wait for the cases to be settled first.
“By then, four to seven years may have passed before we can continue with the project, so the cost will be higher.
“In the current challenging economic situation that we are experiencing, we have to make sure that all expenses incurred can benefit the people without any wastage.”
He said this to reporters after the presentation of scholarships from the Holstein Milk Company Sdn Bhd, at Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih (SBJK), here today.
He also said the ministries involved in the projects were required to ensure all related technical matters, which fall under their jurisdiction such as land acquisition, building designs, dates for project completion and the cost, are finalised before the projects were given to contractors.
“If there are technical problems arising, the relevant ministry will inform us (Ministry of Finance) for further action.”
Meanwhile, Johari said the 2017 Budget, to be tabled by Prime Minister Najib Razak next week, will help Malaysians to face the challenging economic situation.
Johari also gave an assurance that the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) will continue and details will be announced in the 2017 Budget.