Perak MCA lodges report on Selangor DRT deal

IPOH: Perak MCA has lodged a police report on the demand-responsive transit (DRT) Selangor Mobility Initiative pilot project being awarded to a company co-founded by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh’s husband.

Its publicity bureau chief Chung Kok Heung said he believed there was a conflict of interest because Yeoh’s party DAP was part of the Selangor government.

Chung said that based on what he read in the newspapers, he believed the right to operate the project was not granted through an open tender.

“Therefore, I am afraid there (were) dealings not in the people’s favour throughout the negotiation process for the project,” he said here on Friday (May 31).

The report was lodged at the Ipoh police district headquarters late Thursday (May 30) evening.

“The police report was lodged so that an investigation could be carried out on the process of (awarding) this project to the company,” he added.

Previously, it was reported that the Selangor government had appointed a company linked to Yeoh’s husband to provide on-demand transportation services in the state.

An uproar on X ensued over the company’s appointment, with Selangor investment, trade and mobility committee chairman Ng Sze Han subsequently issuing a statement to clarify the matter.

On Sunday (May 26), MCA Youth secretary-general Saw Yee Fung urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to look into the awarding of the project.

The following day, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said there was no wrongdoing as the project was awarded by a separate entity, the state government, not Yeoh’s ministry.

The outcry continued, however, with the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre) urging the government on Wednesday (May 29) to enact procurement reforms.

On the same day, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said any investigation of the matter should be done transparently.

“Let the relevant authorities investigate. If there is a report made, then they should be transparent in their investigation,” he said after an event in Kuala Lumpur.

The same day, the Petaling Jaya MCA Youth division lodged a police report.

The company, Asia Mobiliti Technologies, said it was awarded a nine-month contract based on “proof of concept” during which it had to prove its capability to run the DRT project.