Works Minister S Samy Vellu today said he had not yet assumed his present post when the tender process for the beleaguered Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) headquarters project was undertaken in 1993.

Between 1989 to 1995, Samy held the post of Energy, Communications and Post Minister, said his press secretary E Sivabalan in a faxed statement to malaysiakini.

According to Sivabalan, Samy was 'shocked' to learn that he has been linked to the Matrade controversy by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim yesterday.

"Samy would like to make this clarification to avoid any confusion," said Sivabalan.

Anwar, who was then finance minister, claimed yesterday that he had 'strong suspicion' that Samy had an interest in Ireka Construction Berhad (ICB), which had bid unsuccessfully for the project.

"As a general rule, any recommendation from the Works Ministry - especially in situations where the minister had shown some interest - would raise a lot of suspicions from among the Treasury officers during my time. So the moment Samy showed any interest in any project, the Treasury would review the entire process," said Anwar.

He said these steps were taken against Samy's ministry and not other ministries following recommendations by the Anti-Corruption Agency then.

Anwar added that he was not part of the tender board headed by the then deputy minister, Abdul Ghani Othman, now the Johor Mentri Besar.

Who's to blame?

On Tuesday, Samy had blamed the entire Matrade fiasco on the Finance Ministry led by Anwar which he said failed to heed the advice of the Works Ministry, then led by Leo Moggie.

The Works Ministry had recommended that ICB be engaged as contractor for the project.

Perangsang International Sdn Bhd (PISB), formerly owned by the Selangor government's investment arm, was eventually contracted for the project.

The Matrade building was only completed in April this year, nine years behind schedule causing some RM159.8 million in losses by the government.

The contract granted to PISB was terminated due to delays and shoddy construction.

The original construction cost of RM167 million shot up to RM287.5 million, with RM64.8 million being spent on repairs.

According to an announcement by Bursa Malaysia on July 10, 2003, PISB had received a notice from Public Works Department seven days earlier, demanding it to pay a 'rectification fee' amounting to RM44,245,594 in respect of the Matrade building project.

This amount later ballooned to RM159.8 million, a figure revealed by Samy Vellu in February this year.

He also pledged to get to the bottom of the matter and take action action against PISB directors.

However, PISB had changed its name to Tajuk Construction in 2004 and the company was later wound up in January this year despite receiving an order from the federal government to pay the compensation.