MCA Youth has taken its staunch opposition against the award of the demand-responsive transit (DRT) project by the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-ruled Selangor state government to the highest level to-date by submitting a memorandum to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) yesterday (June 6).
Against the backdrop of widespread concerns about “nepotism, cronyism, opaque practices, and conflicts of interest”, it wants the graft buster to thoroughly probe the entire processes in the awarding the DRT project, including decision-making and approval processes at each stage.
At the centre of the controversy is Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd whose CEO and co-founder Ramachandran Muniandy is the husband of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
“Given that as of May 8, 25 ride-hailing service companies in Malaysia have been licensed by APAD (Land Public Transport Agency) and given the similarity between DRT and ride-hailing services, MACC should investigate as to why these 25 companies were not invited by APAD and the reasons for recommending Asia Mobility to the Selangor state government,” insisted MCA Youth in its memorandum.
The youth wing further sought detailed explanation from MACC about the current standards, regulations and procedures for open tenders.
“If direct negotiation contract awards are allowed, how will MACC prevent opaque practices, bid rigging and collusion among parties?’ asked MCA Youth, alluding to the need to conduct in-depth research to assess whether legislation should be enacted to restrict the awarding of government contracts to relatives of high-ranking government officials.
For the record, Yeoh who is also the DAP Segambut MP had on last weekend (June 1) broken her long silence in the matter by welcoming MACC’s probe in the so-called awarding of the nine-month period proof of concept valued at RM2.1 mil to her husband’s company.
Delving into the so-called ‘vital statistics’, MCA Youth went on to train its gun on the exorbitant average cost per passenger riding on the DRT which amounts to RM97.50.
“According to media reports, Asia Mobility has for the past seven months since November 2023 provided services for 17,000 passengers,” it argued.
“Based on a calculation for a nine-month project, the total passenger tally would be 22,000. In addition to the RM2 fare per person per trip, the Selangor state government paid RM2.1 mil to the company. This was for a nine-month proof of concept (POC), resulting with the cost per passenger to be RM97.50.”
Apart from suggesting that the Selangor state government could have erred in its cost calculations, MCA Youth also the “excessively long” waiting time for DRT vehicle (van).”
“According to media reports, the waiting time for DRT is excessively long. It took five hours to travel from the Sin Chew Daily headquarters in Section 14 Petaling Jaya to Sunway Pyramid and back to Sin Chew Daily headquarters using the LRT,” revealed MCA Youth.
“We (therefore) suggest that MACC investigate the reasons as to why the Selangor state government was persuaded to implement this project.”
Added the youth wing: “We believe that through thorough investigations and public explanations of these issues, MACC will be able to maintain transparency and impartiality in government decision-making, thereby enhancing public trust in the government.” – June 7, 2024
