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300,000 COPIES DAILY Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)

30 SEN for delivery to your doorstep

PLUS toll
concession
now public Award winning newspaper
for public service reporting
and opinion writing.

by Tan Yi Liang and No. 4672 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Karen Arukesamy
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s

Tuesday
January 6, 2009
biggest highway concession contract
– that for the North-South Expressway TELLING IT AS IT IS www.sun2surf.com
– was made public yesterday, ending
concern over why this agreement was
not made available together with 16
» Avoid violence, Najib tells rival parties pg8 » Hello 2009 with Ku pg35 Entertainment
others last Friday, although it had been
declassified.
Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin
Mohamed confirmed that he had the

Battle for Gaza

letter from the concession holder,
PLUS Bhd, agreeing to the contract
being made available for public
scrutiny. Later, just before the view-
ing venue closed for the day, some
reporters managed to view the con-
tract but said some supplementary
agreements were not available.
Replying to questions at the min-
istry, Zin said the number of people
allowed to view the contracts at any
one time has also been doubled.
“I have asked the ministry to ex-
REUTERSPIX
ASSAULT CONTINUES AS ENVOYS
pand the room and give access to 10
people (at a time),” said Zin, in reply to APPEAL FOR TRUCE;
grouses over access to the documents
(see also page 2).
Hitherto, only five people were al-
DEATH TOLL PASSES 530
lowed to view the contracts for a two-

hour stretch at the ministry library.
Asked why greater access could
not be given, Zin said the ministry had
to examine the concession agree-
ments before releasing them further.
“Any copy of agreement showed to a
third party has to be done according
to the provisions of the agreement,”
he said, adding that the ministry was
seeking the advice of the Attorney-
General with regards to this matter.
There had been suggestions that
the contracts be uploaded on the
Internet for all to view.
On Friday, Highway Authority
of Malaysia director-general Datuk
Mohamad Razali Othman had said
that copies of the agreements could
not be distributed until Section 3 of
the Fees Act (1951) was amended to
enable the collection of fees.
On that day, the agreements
released were those involving the
Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP),
Guthrie, Sprint, Besraya, Ampang-
Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway,
SMART, NNKSB, Metramac, Kesas,
Grand Saga, Lebuhraya Pintas Selat
Klang Baru, NPE, MTD, Penang Bridge,
SILK and BORR.
Zin also dismissed calls for the gov-
ernment to buy back the concessions
to reduce the public burden. “(Buying
back the highways) is a question of
money ... At the moment, we are
not looking at the option,” said Zin,
who then reiterated his call to the
concessionaires to “give back” to the
highway users.
Yesterday, four DAP parliamentar-
ians and MCA youth leader Wong Nai
Chee and four lawyers viewed the
contracts, each taking one concession.
Journalists made up the bulk of those
who registered for the viewing.
» See page 2 for related stories
G
AZA: Israeli tanks, planes and ground forces pounded Gaza
yesterday and the defence minister said the offensive against
Hamas militants in the Palestinian enclave would go on until
Israel is safe.
International efforts to secure a ceasefire moved ahead
with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Middle East special
envoy Tony Blair visiting the region, but they seemed able to offer
little beyond words.
The death toll in besieged Gaza rose yesterday to at least 530
people. Victims included three Palestinian children and their mother
when a tank shell hit their home in Gaza City and seven members
of another family were killed in a refugee camp.
The Israeli army said “many dozens” of Islamist fighters had been
killed since ground troops went in on Saturday in a stated attempt
to end rocket fire by Hamas into southern Israel.
“Hamas has so far sustained a very heavy blow from us, but
we have yet to achieve our objective and therefore the operation
continues,” Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said.
A Hamas official said a delegation from the Islamist group would
head for talks in Egypt, which has also opened contacts to achieve a
ceasefire. But senior Hamas political leader Mahmoud Zahar urged
Hamas forces to fight on “in the name of God”.
They legalised for us knocking down their synagogues when
RM3.6m humanitarian aid
for Palestinians – page 4
they hit our mosques, they legalised for us knocking down their
schools when they hit our schools,” he said in a speech broadcast
in Gaza.
A Palestinian boy Gunbattles intensified in eastern Gaza City and in the north
wounded by an Israeli of the strip yesterday. Militants fired mortars and grenades and
tank shell is carried into detonated mines, and claimed to have hit a troop carrier.
Shifa hospital in Gaza A military spokeswoman said the air force bombed more than
yesterday. A tank shell 30 targets, including homes of Hamas members used as weapons
killed three children in depots, tunnels and a suspected anti-aircraft rocket launcher.
their home in eastern Israel launched its offensive with an air blitz on Dec 27 to
Gaza City yesterday, curtail the rocket attacks from Hamas-ruled Gaza before an Israeli
medical officials said. national election next month.
Four Israelis have been killed by salvoes fired into Israel since
the offensive began. An Israeli soldier was killed in fighting on
Sunday and 48 have been wounded since the invasion.
» Turn to Page 6