By G. Sharmila
Energy Commission (EC) member Mohd Nasir Ahmad has resigned over his unhappiness over the awarding of Project 4A through direct negotiations instead of competitive bidding, a source told KiniBiz.
Mohd Nasir Ahmad
A senior EC official with knowledge of the matter confirmed that Mohd Nasir, who was appointed a member of the EC in September 2012, had indeed resigned from his position. Another EC official KiniBiz spoke to said he had “retired”. The official declined to comment further on the reason behind Mohd Nasir’s “retirement”.
Another member of the commission who is believed to have resigned because he disagreed with the way projects were being awarded by the EC is Ahmad Tajuddin Ali, who was chairman of the EC until end March this year. He was replaced by the current chairman Abdul Razak Abdul Majid, who was appointed chairman of the EC on April 1st.
A check on the EC website showed that Mohd Nasir is still listed as a commission member. According to the website, he is a qualified accountant who began his career with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in 1979 and was made chief executive of Malaysia Transformer Manufacturing Sdn Bhd in 1994.
He went on to work with Syarikat Permodalan Kebangsaan Berhad and later Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad. Mohd Nasir is an independent director at Bina Darulaman Berhad, Pelaburan Hartanah Berhad, SME Bank, Pelaburan Mara Berhad, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Holdings Sdn Bhd and UPM Holdings Sdn Bhd.
He is also a member of the Small Debt Resolution Committee of Bank Negara Malaysia, Financial Reporting Foundation Malaysia and the Professional Development Panel at The Global University of Islamic Finance (INCEIF).
Ahmad Tajuddin Ali
Attempts to contact Mohd Nasir were not immediately successful. In a response to an email by KiniBiz requesting for clarification concerning his resignation from the EC due to the way contracts were being awarded, Ahmad Tajuddin replied: “You got your basic facts totally wrong!” without elaborating further.
The EC has been heavily criticised and mired in controversy in recent months due to its award of power plant projects. Its decision to award a 2,000MW (megawatt) coal-fired power plant (Project 3B) to a joint venture between 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Mitsui Co. Ltd. in February angered industry players as it was believed that a consortium led by YTL Power International Bhd had offered a lower bid but was denied the job.
Another controversial decision the EC made was to award a 50MW solar power plant project through a direct tender to 1MDB in April, followed by the award of a combined cycle power plant with a capacity of 1,000-1,400MW in Pasir Gudang, Johor to a consortium consisting of YTL Power, Sultan of Johor vehicle SIPP Energy Sdn Bhd and TNB, also via direct negotiations.
The EC’s decisions to award these projects via direct negotiations have been viewed somewhat unhappily by the industry due to the perceived lack of transparency and fairness, which were practiced in the past when competitive bidding for power plant projects was the norm.
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