KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) wants Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli to retract a statement that disputed the cost of developing the Central Database Hub (Padu).
Seeking a ruling from Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul on Thursday (Nov 7), Dr Wee said the RM85mil cost he cited was reported by several news outlets including PKR’s party organ Suara Keadilan.
Showing printouts of news reports in the Dewan Rakyat, Dr Wee added that a quick check on the Internet showed he had quoted the correct figure.
Dr Wee said Rafizi had disputed the figure, saying a “different officer” had furnished the data.
“I do not wish to refer the minister to Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee, but to clear my name I am asking the Speaker to advise the minister.
"I am not trying to create problems, but I will defend my good name to the very end,” he said.
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Rafizi recently said it was untrue that Padu was developed with an allocation of RM85mil, saying that only RM31mil had been spent as of September.
According to Rafizi, the RM31mil included RM800,000 on the servers, firewall and network security, RM4.6mil for platform database encryption and other purposes, and RM6.4mil for cloud services.
The heftiest expenditure on Padu, Rafizi added, was RM19.3mil for nationwide registration operations.
Dr Wee said if the minister was going to stick to his guns, he should provide a detailed explanation to the august House.
Johari then said Dr Wee could file a motion regarding his proposed remedy.
“That will be for the best, as there will be a black-and-white record.
"If I advise him (Rafizi) there won’t be any official record. (Let me know) if you want him to correct the facts or apologise,” Johari said.
