Ex-Labour chief revealed as director of foreign workers processing firm

PKR's Lee Chean Chung at an earlier press conference last week revealing the link between Bestinet and former Home Minister Tan Sri Azmi Khalid. – The Malaysian Insider pic, January 27, 2015.PKR has named another director of Bestinet Sdn Bhd (Bestinet), the company caught in a storm over the controversial biometric health checks for migrant workers.

Sungai Petani MP Datuk Johari Abdul and PKR Youth information chief Lee Chean Chung said the director is Datuk Tengku Omar Tengku Bot, who was previously director of the Labour Department and has close ties with former home minister Tan Sri Azmi Khalid, who is also a director of Bestinet.

They said both men also have common interests in other companies like Raffles Care.

"Through his control in JR Joint Resources Holding Sdn Bhd, Omar controls over 99% of Bestinet.

"Like Bestinet – a RM2 company previously – which had not submitted its accounts to  the Registrar of Companies for four years, JR Joint Resources has also not sent in its books since 2010.

The latest financial report the company sent was dated in 2007, and this violates the Companies Act 1965," Johari and Lee said in a statement today.

They disclosed this today after both Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Azmi failed to answer questions about the controversial biometric health checks for migrant workers.

PKR had given the duo a week to explain their roles in the awarding of the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) contract exclusively to the private IT firm Bestinet.

The FWCMS is a website handled by Bestinet, which will also handle online applications for foreign worker quotas, their electronic temporary working permits (ePLKS), and insurance, among others, beginning January 15 this year. All health checkup centres in the source countries, where the workers are from, are also compelled to use the Bestinet system.

The arrangement had reportedly caused tension among labour agencies and the Nepali government when they were informed that they must use the new system.

"Bestinet not only will make huge profits through monopolising the eVDR and biometric system. The company will also cause the increase in cost to hire foreign workers.

"When the increase in cost is not monitored, it will expose foreign workers to risks of exploitation and human trafficking," Johari and Lee said.

The two PKR reps again challenged Zahid and Azmi to explain within 24 hours about their roles and the contract awarded to Bestinet.

"It is unfortunate that both the minister and former minister have kept mum on the issue together and would not come forward to end the doubts of the people so far.

"If they do not do so, we will reveal further information that is 'very critical'," they said.

Of late, the PKR lawmakers had also raised concerns that Malaysia's national security was at risk due to the use of the new system.

They feared that the information in the system was related to border control and immigration, and the sensitive information could be used to threaten the security and sovereignty of the country.

- TMI