PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry has explained that the procurement of textbooks in the Dual-Language Progamme (DLP) for this year was done via two methods; direct negotiation and open tender.
A statement released by the ministry today said that the publication of two DLP textbook titles, ‘Science Year 3’ and ‘Mathematics Year 3’and their republications, which altogether involved 266,110 copies were given through a direct negotiation with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP).
It said the move was in accordance to a National Action Council 1974 decision in which DBP was tasked to publish textbooks for primary schools.
“The publication of secondary school DLP book, namely ‘Science Form 3’ and ‘Mathematics Year 3’ involving 108,680 copies is being done through an open tender by the ministry.
“Therefore, it is untrue that all DLP textbooks, especially those involving private publishers were conducted through direct negotiations,” it said.
The statement said that for the purpose of open tenders for the ‘Science Form 3’ and ‘Mathematics Form 3’ titles, an advertisement was published on the e-Perolehan portal as per normal procedure.
The process of selecting the tender was handled by three committees: the Materials Evaluation Committee, Publisher/Company Capability Evaluation Committee and Price Evaluation Committee.
The ministry said the findings of the three committees will be deliberated by the Procurement Board, which is chaired by the ministry’s deputy secretary-general (development) and consists of representatives from the Finance Ministry, Public Works Department and the three division secretaries in the Education Ministry.
The statement said the tender processes would be carried out transparently while upholding all standards of integrity.
“It is hoped that this explanation would give a true picture of the process of DLP textbooks publications.
“The Education Ministry is taking necessary steps to supply the secondary school DLP textbooks as soon as possible,” it said.
On Jan 13, the Finance Ministry gave a special approval for the acquisition of the DLP textbooks through direct negotiations.
However, on Jan 17, a Malay publishers association expressed disappointment at the delay in the procurement of Form 3 science and mathematics text books under the DLP programme.
Persatuan Pengusaha Percetakan Melayu Malaysia presisent Muhammed Farhan Basheer had said that the text books were still not available at schools, despite the start of the new school term.
The association also urged the Finance Ministry to conduct open tenders instead of direct negotiations to avoid merely giving the project to cronies or unqualified individuals.