DIDN’T MAHATHIR SAY HE WAS ANTI-CORRUPTION? YET ANTI-GRAFT GROUP IS ABLE TO ZOOM IN ON WORRISOME CONFLICTS IN HIS 3RD NATIONAL CAR PROJECT

PUTRAJAYA must clarify some facts about the proposed third national car project in Budget 2020, to will be tabled next week, anti-graft watchdog Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre) said.

According to a C4 Centre statement released today, it has not received answers on whether government has carried out a thorough cost-benefit analysis on the proposed project, and the actual or estimated government funding needed to develop the project prototype.

Putrajaya must also state clearly whether it is a public-private partnership project (PPP) and make information about the funding available, it added.

C4 Centre executive director Cynthia Gabriel and senior researcher Lalitha Kunaratnam said in the statement that this information is necessary because ministers are issuing conflicting statements about the project.

For example, International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking in August said that the project would be privately funded.

However, Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Yusof had previously said that RM20 million from the government’s research and development fund would be used to develop the prototype.

At the same time, the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) said the entity would be a PPP.

C4 Centre also highlighted possible conflicts of interest in the project, as MIGHT director Khairi Adri Adnan is also the majority owner of DreamEdge, the Cyberjaya-based company chosen to lead the third national car project with technology support from Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd.

Citing a company search, C4 said Khairil Adri owned 91% of DreamEdge.

Additionally, Venturetech Sdn Bhd, which is wholly owned by MIGHT, also has shares in DreamEdge.

“This raises the question as to potential conflict of interest with Khairi Adri holding positions in both the company – as the chief executive officer (CEO) of his private company which is leading this car project – as well as a director of a government-linked company overseeing the funding of this car project,” C4 Centre said.

Incorporated in 2007, DreamEdge is involved in innovation and digital engineering. MIGHT, meanwhile, is wholly owned by the Minister of Finance (Incorporated).

The prototype of the car is expected in March 2020 and the final product is slated to roll out in 2021.

– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com