RAWANG: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will discuss tomorrow the rational for the purchase of 1,294 units of used buses at the price of RM93 million by the Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) in 2003, PAC chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid said.

He said the discussion was part of the committee's investigation into the company's asset management.He said the PAC would call the company to give its explanation.

"We are sure that an evaluation has been done upon the purchase but we don't know the rationale (behind the decision). We will be deliberating on this," he told reporters after visiting the Sungai Buaya bus depot here today.

The purchase of buses is among issues highlighted in the 2008 Auditor-General's Report which among others, criticises the company's asset disposal procedure, including its plan to dispose of 1,139 units of the buses which the company kept at Sungai Buaya and Serendah bus depots.

The report pointed out that 459 or 40.3 per cent of the 1,139 buses destined for disposal could still be repaired.

Azmi said Prasarana purchased the buses from DRB-Hicom and Park May in 2003 as part of the process to restructure the public transportation system.

In 2005, a professional evaluation was carried out on the buses and found that 1,139 of them were not on good condition.

"In July 2008, Prasarana received the approval to dispose of 1,139 units of bus bodies as scraps," he said after a briefing by Prasarana Group managing director Datuk Idrose Mohamed.

"As of today, only 180 units of the bus bodies are left while the rest have been disposed of," he said, adding that the tender for the sale of scraps had been given to Syarikat TAF Resources for RM4.4 million.

However, he said, Prasarana collected RM6.5 million from the sale of the scraps as there were units which could still be sold.

"Until now, we have yet to determine Prasarana's profit or loss," he said.

Also present at the visit were PAC vice-chairman who is also Kepong member of parliament Dr Tan Seng Giaw, Ledang MP Hamim Samuri, Tumpat MP Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua Kiam Wee and PAC secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah.