The RM1.5 bil National Integrated Immigration System (IIS) is expected to be awarded soon and the frontrunners have been identified.
The usual suspects include listed tech giants Datasonic Group Bhd, Scicom (MSC) Bhd, HeiTech Padu Bhd and Opcom Holdings Bhd. Thrown in the mix are Iris Corp Bhd and MyEG Services Bhd.
But there is also an unlisted company that identifies as a global integrated security solutions provider for governments and enterprises – S5 Systems Sdn Bhd. This was reported by FocusM in December last year.
Given that this company is privately held, not much is known about them. According to company filings, the ultimate beneficial owner of the company is an offshore or overseas entity NSA Technology (L) Inc which in turn owns NSA Technology Sdn Bhd, the parent company of S5 Systems.
S5 Systems’ directors are Syed Mohammad Hafiz Syed Razlan, Aaron Loke Khy-Min, Kurian Thomas Jacob Thomas, Effendi Ramli and Chan See Siang.
Syed Mohammad Hafiz is the sole director of NSA Technology Sdn Bhd. Both S5 Systems and NSA Technology share an office.
Syed Mohammad Hafiz’s father Syed Razlan Syed Putra Jamalullail is the younger brother of Raja Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail. Syed Razlan was former Arau MP and he joined Bersatu from Umno on July 15, 2018.
Syed Mohammad Hafiz also owns a 0.42% stake in listed automobile leather seat designer Pecca Group Bhd.
But the trail stops there as NSA Technology (L) Inc is an offshore or overseas company. Its shareholders and owners can’t be ascertained except for a 2016 report that links NSA Technology Sdn Bhd to well-connected entrepreneur Johann Young. But company filings for NSA Technology Sdn Bhd do not reflect Young’s name.
This raises questions as the IIS is a matter of national security.
According to the latest filings, S5 Systems’ total assets stood at RM82.7 mil with revenue of RM116.8 mil and a profit-after-tax of RM68.3 mil for the financial year ended June 30, 2019.
For context, other frontrunners especially the listed companies have better transparency as they are subject to Main Market requirements and are under the purview of Bursa Malaysia.
Conversely, S5 Systems remains a relatively unknown company in the matter with no clear ultimate beneficial owner. This raises concerns that an important tender involving national security might be awarded to an opaque company.
At the time of writing, FocusM’s attempts to contact S5 Systems as well as NSA Technology were unsuccessful. – June 10, 2020
