A consortium between MyEG Services Bhd, HeiTech Padu Bhd and S5 Systems Sdn Bhd is among the frontrunners for the National Integrated Immigration System (NIIS).
This is an RM1.5 bil project expected to be awarded during the third quarter of this year. The contract is for a total of 4.5 years including three years of development, six months of monitoring and a final year of maintenance.
After that, there is another maintenance contract which would be around 15%-20% of the value of the project.
Names have been bandied about. The usual suspects include listed companies Datasonic Group Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd and Scicom (MSC) Bhd. But it is the MyEG-HeiTech Padu-S5 Systems consortium that has been gaining some traction of late.
The most obvious link between the three companies is entrepreneur Wong Thean Soon, who owns MyEG which in turn plans to acquire a 10% stake in S5 Holdings Inc, the holding company of S5 Systems.
MyEG is expected to fork out RM90 mil, of which RM75 mil is in cold hard cash, while the remainder will be in MyEG shares.
Wong owns about 20% of MyEG directly and also through his vehicle, Asia Internet Holdings Sdn Bhd, which sits on a 37.6% stake.
But Wong also has a presence in HeiTech Padu through Asia Internet with a substantial 10.4% in HeiTech Padu, according to the latter’s 2019 annual report.
The other owner of Asia Internet is MyEG executive chairman Norraesah Mohamad. She was also an Umno supreme council member from 2000 to 2013.
And, HeiTech Padu has links to S5. One of its shareholders is AIX Shares Sdn Bhd which owns a meagre 0.79%, according to its annual report. AIX is wholly owned by offshore entity Merrington Assets Ltd.
Merrington owns a substantial stake in S5 Holdings and is the party that is being engaged by MyEG in the latter’s bid to acquire the 10% stake owned by Merrington in S5.
According to a Bursa filing dated June 30, the company Merrington had nominated is none other than AIX Shares.
Incorporated on July 5, 2019, AIX Shares has a sole director, Ng Hong Sing, who was among a string of individuals, together with Wong, involved in the alleged manipulation of MyEG shares between Jan 16, 2007, and April 24, 2007.
Wong entered into a settlement with the Securities Commission Malaysia in the sum of RM7 mil when he agreed without admission or denial of liability to settle the claim.
Other key shareholders of HeiTech Padu include Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) which owns a 6.96% stake as well as Padujade Corp Sdn Bhd with a 24.85% stake.
Padujade has a string of shareholders including Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd (PUNB) with a 4.95% stake.
PNB and PUNB are wholly owned by Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputra (YPB), whose chairman is Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Meanwhile, Tanjong Karang MP and Umno strongman Noh Omar is expected to helm PUNB.
Technically, the MyEG-HeiTech Padu-S5 Systems consortium presents itself as a strong front. MyEG itself received a three-year extension yesterday from the government to provide the online service for the foreign worker temporary employment pass which is worth an estimated RM208 mil.
But HeiTech Padu has a troubled past with its handling of the NIIS’ predecessor, the Malaysia Immigration System (MyIMMS).
HeiTech Padu was appointed by the Ministry of Finance, then headed by Najib Razak when he double hatted as prime minister, on Nov 1, 2010, through direct negotiation.
The Auditor General’s Reports 2015 and 2018 highlighted issues with the MyIMMS, including “losses in government revenue” in the latter report. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Home Ministry were looking into the issues.
But the flashpoint was in May 2016 when an insider syndicate in the Immigration Department was busted for sabotaging the MyIMMS after it successfully siphoned off RM1 bil.
Heitech Padu came out to defend itself that year after being criticised for putting out a shoddy product. The company denied that MyIMMS had been compromised but admitted that the system is susceptible to power outages and internet service disruptions.
But Heitech Padu also believed it was made the scapegoat for a structural problem much bigger than itself: poor overall system integration as many databases were developed and maintained by various vendors.
This led the Najib government to announce an overhaul of MyIMMS, hence the NIIS. Whether the NIIS can be successfully executed is another question that is worth raising given the many vested interests in the project.
Also, there is an element of mystery with S5, as its major shareholder NSA Technology is owned by an offshore or overseas entity NSA Technology (L) Inc.
But its sole director is Syed Mohammad Hafiz, who is from the Perlis royal family. His father, Syed Razlan Syed Putra Jamalullail, is the younger brother of Raja Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail.
Syed Razlan himself was also former Arau MP, and he had joined Bersatu from Umno on July 15, 2018. – July 2, 2020
