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Keep records of lobbying efforts, Ma urges DORTS

Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged the city's Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) to make official memos of any lobbying efforts made by legislators or city councilors on behalf of companies bidding to supply rail carriages for the Taipei MRT.

The city is currently accepting tenders from companies who wish to supply 321 MRT rail cars worth a total of NT$21.5 billion.

"The memoranda will improve the transparency of the process involving the DORTS' purchase of the multi-billion dollar MRT carriages," Ma said in a press conference.

"To a certain extent, it serves as protection for the DORTS to be free from the suspicion of partiality for certain suppliers," Ma said.

He stressed that the purpose of doing so is not aimed at any particular person or company, nor was he implying that there have been illegal lobbying efforts. Rather, he said, the policy was being put in place to protect the government agency responsible for purchasing the cars.

Citing Singapore's example in legitimating such lobbying efforts, Ma said, "The Singapore government ruled that any public elected officials could conduct lobbying only through the submission of written documents, and lobbying could only be used for the interests of his or her constituents."

"By incorporating these two principles, I believe the lobbying could be mostly free from any corrupt or inappropriate attempts," Ma said.

The mayor also urged the DORTS to retain an attitude that was professional, just, calm and determined when conducting the bidding for the procurement project.

Ma also disclosed that a DORTS official had resigned his post because of the heavy pressure he felt while dealing with a procurement project that involved such a huge amount of money.

In response to Ma's comments, DORTS director Frank L.S. Fan (范良) said yesterday that the DORTS' Department of Government Ethics has always kept written records of the bidding process and would continue to do so.

On Jan. 29 this year, Ma said for the first time that lawmakers and city councilors had been involved in lobbying for the would-be suppliers of the MRT cars.

"There have been all sorts of concerns registered by lawmakers and city councilors ? but as long as the approaches are legal, there is no way to say that one form of lobbying is right and another is wrong," Ma said at the time.
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