{"id":3542,"date":"2013-01-18T17:34:19","date_gmt":"2013-01-18T09:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/?p=3542"},"modified":"2013-01-21T10:56:08","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T02:56:08","slug":"clandestine-training-deal-dap-demands-muhyiddin-to-explain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/clandestine-training-deal-dap-demands-muhyiddin-to-explain\/","title":{"rendered":"Clandestine training deal, DAP demands Muhyiddin to explain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Jan \u2013 Another case of contracts awarded under dubious circumstances was revealed, this time a training deal worth RM23 mil handed out without open tender to an UMNO-related company registered to sell sports equipments.<\/p>\n

At a press conference at the party headquarters here DAP Election Strategist Dr Ong Kian Ming sought an explanation from the Education Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin on why such a big contract was given through the back door.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe question why this contract was given via direct negotiation to a company which was founded in 2008 \u2018to venture into the sports equipment and product market\u2019 in Malaysia,\u201d said Ong.<\/p>\n

The contract, awarded to Syarikat KH Sports World Sdn Bhd, is said to provide retraining for Physical Education (PE) teachers and training for other teachers interested in PE in Malaysia, through a program dubbed the \u2018International Diploma in Physical Education and Scholastic Sports\u2019 or IDPESS.<\/p>\n

A visit to KH Sports World website would reveal that the company is chaired by Kedah Puteri UMNO Vice Chief, Hisham Suhaili Othman, who also holds the titles of Langkawi Puteri UMNO Chief, Kedah UMNO Relations Committee, and Malaysia Puteri UMNO Treasurer for the Sports and Fitness Bureau.<\/p>\n

IDPESS started in June last year, with the six month training program utilizing trainers from a lesser known American college identified as the United States Sports Academy (USSA), based in Alabama.<\/p>\n

According to Dr Ong, \u201cWhile the intention of providing retraining to PE teachers, especially those without qualifications, may be a good one, but the reasons to why the contract was given are to be questioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Questionable credibility, overpriced<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe also call into question the decision to appoint a US-based college whose method of teaching is almost exclusively by distance and online learning,\u201d added Ong.<\/p>\n

Ong also inquired about the USSA\u2019s training credibility, citing that, as a primarily online institution, the college would \u201ccertainly not have sufficient teaching faculty and resources to deliver face to face teaching programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The estimated current number of students at USSA is less than 600, he claimed, unconvinced that the academy is deemed fit to serve the supposed local enrolment of 1, 000.<\/p>\n

Ong also sought explanations from Muhyiddin about the high cost needed for the program, suggesting the fact that RM22.9 million for 1, 000 students which \u201ctranslates into RM22, 900 for every \u2018diploma\u2019 earned,\u201d is way too much for a sports diploma.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is more than four times of what it costs to obtain a Diploma Pengajian Sukan (Diploma in Sports Studies) from Universiti Teknologi Mara, UiTM which costs about RM6, 000 for six semesters,\u201d Ong explained.<\/p>\n

Suspicions on the clandestine nature of the contract rose when Muhyiddin Yassin, also Malaysia\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by USSA on 17 January 2013.<\/p>\n

Muhyiddin was given the award for his efforts of \u201cenhancing physical education in the building of a nation\u201d through the initiation of the \u2018One Student \u2013 One Sport\u2019 policy amongst Malaysian schoolchildren, launched in June 2011.<\/p>\n

Ong insisted that the awarding of the contract is yet \u201canother example of BN\u2019s \u2018cakap tak serupa bikin\u2019 (not walking the talk),\u201d as while the Prime Minister (Najib Razak) is purportedly preaching transparency on one hand, the members of cabinet \u201cdoes the complete opposite by awarding contracts at vastly inflated prices\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid Muhyiddin\u2019s honorary doctorate cost the Malaysian taxpayer RM23 mil? Is this the price the Malaysian taxpayers have to pay so that our Minister of Education can obtain an honorary doctorate?\u201d \u2013 The Rocket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Jan \u2013 Another case of contracts awarded under dubious circumstances was revealed, this time a training deal worth RM23 mil handed out without open tender to an UMNO-related company registered to sell sports equipments. At a press conference at the party headquarters here DAP Election Strategist Dr Ong Kian Ming sought an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[274],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}