In Selangor, the Asia Mobiliti direct negotiation contract is just the tip of the iceberg
Without proper transparency, it looks like cronyism is alive and well in Selangor
Murray Hunter
The recent appointment of Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd as the service provider for Selangor Mobility’s Demand Response Transit (DRT) system has been met with a massive public backlash.
Federal Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeow, through her husband, the co-founder and CEO of Asia Mobiliti Ramachandran Muniandy has brought much debate about the ethics, transparency, and potential conflict of interest of the deal with the Selangor government.
What has made the deal look even more suspicious is the very quick response by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Azam Baki stating there was no issue with Yeow’s ministry appointment, and her lack of ties with the Selangor government. What the MACC conveniently forgot was that Yeow was a former speaker of the Selangor Legislative Assembly until 2018.
What was also interesting is the lack of coverage the issue got in Malaysiakini. So much for fearless investigative reporting. It had nothing to do with the fact that one of Malaysiakini’s co-founders is also a director of Asia Mobility.
Tip of the iceberg
This is not the only Selangor government deal that was undertaken by direct negotiation. There are others. The examples below indicate the opaque nature of the Selangor government.
Shah Alam Stadium
The long drawn out saga of the Shah Alam Stadium refurbishment, then demolition, and announcement of an RM 3.28 billion re-development, has had many twists and turns.
At first a tender was called to repair the stadium, which would have cost RM 80-100 million. Then the state government announced there would be a complete site redevelopment into a commercial complex, with a smaller stadium. Estimates of the cost went from RM 700 million to later a whopping RM 3.28 billion.
There were no tenders called for such a massive project for something costing 8 times the whole GDP of Selangor, which was RM 421,641 million in 2022. Nor was this mammoth project broken up into parcels to share the work around with a number of contractors. No financial viability study was ever made public. There are grave doubts as to whether any formal feasibility study was ever done by the state government.
As time has gone on and continuing criticism, the whole re-development project has suddenly gone quiet. There is even doubt the project will go ahead in the form it was announced.
The RM 35 million demolishment project was awarded to Lembaran Prospek Sdn Bhd, by what appears to have been direct negotiation. We will never know whether the state could have saved money through calling an open tender.
Quarries in Bukit Lagong
Quarry concessions are lucrative. There have been a number of quarry concessions granted in the Bukit Lagong area of Selangor. Putting aside the environmental impact implications, the Selangor Forestry Department has awarded 27 lesen kecil or petty licenses to companies and cooperatives. Some of these are state related cooperatives and companies. However, a number of these quarry concessions have common directors and shareholders.
There is absolutely no transparency in all of the above deals.
Selangor has become a basket case. Massive deals are being done by direct negotiations, rather than tenders. Its looking like Selangor could grab the title of being the crony capital of Malaysia.
There is something wrong when the MACC will not even look into these deals.
