Umno-linked firm frontrunner bidding to manage fuel subsidies

By admin-s On Jul 15, 2014

(TMI) – The brother of an Umno MP and a businessman close to Putrajaya are behind Fuelsubs House Sdn Bhd (FHSB), the frontrunner bidding for a fuel subsidy management project that is causing disquiet among party supporters.

Fuelsubs surfaced last month when smart-card maker Datasonic Group Bhd said it will pay RM10 million for a 30% stake in the company if it secured a letter of award from Putrajaya to implement the project, which has been presented to the Economic Council.

The principal owners of Fuelsubs are businessman Habibul Rahman Kadir Shah and Datuk Razali Merican Naina Merican, who is the brother to Kepala Batas MP Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican.

Habibul, who is close to Umno and the Prime Minister’s Office, sits on the board of several companies, including Group Lotus PLC, which is owned by Proton Bhd, Felda Global Venture Bhd’s Twin River Technologies Holdings Inc, and in March, was named to the board of the London-based Petronas Energy Trading Limited.

The other owners of Fuelsub are HKS Primatrix Sdn Bhd, which is also owned by Habibul, and his brother Zaid Kadershah, a telecommunications senior executive.

Their presence in the project is said to be causing disquiet among some quarters in Umno and pro-government bloggers, who called for transparency in the project to plug leaks in the subsidy programme.