KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Kuching Youth has raised concerns over the changes to the tender specification for the Federal Government’s Stage Bus Service Transformation (SBST) project, urging greater transparency and fairness in the process.
Following the recent launching of the BAS.MY Kuching service, SUPP Kuching Youth said they received complaints that the letter of award dated Aug 6, 2024, issued by the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) Sarawak for the project, failed to comply with the original tender requirements.
“The tender, that was advertised on January 3, 2024 and closed on March 3, 2024, aimed to invite bus operators from Kuching to bid for 56 units of buses with 44-seater buses to service 10 routes in the city.
“However, when the letter of award was issued to the successful tenderer for this federal project worth over RM79 million, the fundamental term of the tender requirement was changed.
“The original specification of 44-seater buses was amended to ‘maximum 44-seater’ buses,” it said in a statement.
It said the change in specifications after the tender process has sparked criticism, with some questioning the fairness of the process.
“It has also been suggested that the Federal Government should call for a new tender to provide equal opportunities to other potential bidders,” it said.
CVLB Sarawak said that the tender process has followed the guidelines outlined in ‘Pekeliling Perbendaharaan PK 2.2: Tender Terbuka’.
“Upon examination of the relevant circular, there is nothing in there allowing for such major change in tender specifications.
“On the contrary, the circular emphasises transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency in the procurement process, which implies that any major change to the tender requirements after the tender has closed would undermine these principles,” it said.
SUPP Kuching Youth therefore urged CVLB Sarawak to explain why the changes were made and why a new tender was not called for to maintain fairness.
