Probe leak of confidential proposals, says Umno man

PETALING JAYA: An investigation should be conducted over claims that confidential project propo-­sals submitted to the Government were leaked to rival companies.

Umno supreme council member Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin said the culprits who did this should be exposed and punished.

“We need to know how the companies that copied the original proposals obtained them in the first place,” said Sharkar.

His suggestion echoed Selangor Umno secretary and Semenyih assemblyman Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz’s call for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to look into the issue.

The state executive councillor for Pahang and state assemblyman for Lanchang said stringent measures needed to be put in place to stop such cheats.

The claims of such leaks were first brought up by Umno supreme council member Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi.

Puad feared that the leak could be due to “inside help”.

Sharkar said those handling confidential project proposals should be honest and trust­worthy.

“They also need to be vigilant when they see similar project proposals being handed in,” he said.

“Of course, the project proposed can be similar, such as a bus terminal, but if the architecture and design of the bus terminal are similar too, then it needs to be given a thorough review, doesn’t it?”

Sharkar condemned the practice of copying other companies’ proposals.

“It is similar to plagiarism – companies that copy the original proposals are stealing the original companies’ intellectual property,” he noted.

He added that copying other companies’ proposals could hinder creativity and advancement in various fields as only a few companies would come up with ori­ginal proposals.

Sharkar also said the companies whose proposals and ideas had been copied should lodge complaints so that the relevant bodies could investigate.