Following last Wednesday’s police report, MCA Youth continues to go after the Selangor government’s Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) project with a memorandum submitted to the MACC today.
In the memorandum, they urged the graft buster to investigate Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd (Asia Mobiliti), a company co-owned by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh’s husband, which is involved in the DRT project.
The memorandum was submitted by MCA Youth secretary-general Saw Yee Fung, accompanied by two other youth leaders at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.
A representative officer from the MACC, Zulhairi Zainal Abidin, received the memorandum.
Speaking to the press after, Saw said the DRT project involves public interest and that the MACC should disclose all investigation processes and results.
She noted that as of May 8, Malaysia had 25 e-hailing service companies licensed by the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad).
Saw believed that since the DRT project is very similar to e-hailing, the MACC should investigate why these 25 e-hailing companies were not invited to participate in the project.
Earlier, Apad said only three companies were registered to provide DRT or “Bus on Demand” services.
They were Asia Mobiliti, Badan Bas Coach Sdn Bhd, and Kumpool Sdn Bhd.
Investigate process
Saw also questioned the statement by Selangor executive councillor Ng Sze Han that “only two companies nationwide are licensed” and urged the MACC to investigate the open tender process.
“On Apad’s website, apart from the two companies (Asia Mobiliti and Badan Bas Coach Sdn Bhd) granted licences for the proof of concept, there are actually 25 other companies with e-hailing licences issued by Apad.
“We hope the MACC can investigate why only these two appointed companies were invited to participate and not the other 25 companies through an open tender,” she said.
Saw called on the MACC to clarify the standards, regulations, and procedures for open tenders, as well as the legality of direct awards.
“If direct awards are allowed, how should the MACC prevent behind-the-scenes operations, under-the-table deals, and cronyism?” she asked.
Additionally, she suggested that MACC studies and creates regulations to restrict the close relatives of high-ranking officials from obtaining government contracts.
“The MACC should study and legislate to regulate the direct relatives of high-ranking government officials, cabinet members, and even government officers to prevent similar situations from occurring,” Saw said.
DRT project ineffective
Besides requesting an investigation into Asia Mobiliti, Saw also urged the MACC to investigate why the Selangor government implemented the DRT project.
Citing previous media reports, she emphasised that the implementation of the DRT project has been ineffective, took too long, and incurred high costs.
She pointed out that, according to estimates, the cost per passenger is RM97.50.
She believed that if the MACC could conduct a detailed investigation and explain it publicly, that would help transparency in government decision-making and enhance public trust in the government.
Initially, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki dismissed a need to probe the Asia Mobiliti issue as Yeoh was not involved in the decision-making process.
However, an investigation was subsequently launched after the MACC obtained “new leads”.
They were over the possibility of abuse of power and non-compliance with Treasury directives by the Selangor government in awarding the DRT project.
Yeoh welcomed the probe and said she had kept silent so as not to be seen as interfering with investigations.
Asia Mobiliti’s CEO is Yeoh’s husband Ramachandran Muniandy. The company’s co-owner is Malaysiakini director and former CEO Premesh Chandran.
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