By Danial Dzulkifly
PETALING JAYA, May 30 — The Selangor government was avoiding a potential monopoly when it decided to appoint more than one firm to participate in the proof of concept (POC) for the state’s demand-responsive transit (DRT) project.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the move was ultimately intended to allow the state to compare different systems and determine the best one for implementation.
Addressing questions over the decision to allow two firms to take part in the POC — Asia Mobiliti Technologies Sdn Bhd and Badan Bas Coach Sdn Bhd — Amirudin said this initial stage is crucial for gathering information on best practices.
[caption id="attachment_358689" align="alignright" width="462"]
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari speaks at the Selangor International Junior Golf Championship 2024 and PKNS Selangor Masters press conference, at Kelab Golf Seri Selangor, Petaling Jaya, on May 30, 2024. — Picture by FIKRI YUSOF/SELANGORKINI[/caption]
“For the process of POC, I think they (Asia Mobiliti) qualify. But if you remove one, then there is only one other company, Badan Bas.
“If that is the case, we can't make a comparison (of which system we should use),” he told reporters after the conclusion of the Selangor International Junior Golf Championship 2024 and PKNS Selangor Masters press conference at Kelab Golf Seri Selangor, here, today.
Asia Mobiliti has been the centre of attention recently after several quarters raised questions over a perceived conflict of interest in its appointment to operate the state’s DRT service, as the firm’s founder and chief executive officer, M. Ramachandran, is the spouse of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
Amirudin explained that the appointment of the two firms as well as the upcoming involvement of a third — Kumpool Sdn Bhd — for the POC stage had gone through proper due diligence after they had received approval from the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) to operate.
Asia Mobiliti and Badan Bas received Apad’s approval on December 22, 2022 and February 24, 2023, respectively, while Kumpool received theirs recently.
Amirudin reiterated that no contract has been issued to any company at this moment for the implementation of the DRT service, as it is still at the POC stage.
“We are not giving out the contracts for any company to run DRT services in totality right now. Far from it.”
No violation of laws
Amirudin also stressed that the appointment of Asia Mobiliti to participate in the pilot phase of the DRT project did not break any ethical grounds.
"The key point here is that there was no influence from Hannah Yeoh. I was also not involved, and neither was Ng Sze Han,’’ he said, referring to the state executive councillor for mobility.
"In fact, the process was conducted by the leadership of Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated), as they were the ones making the evaluations.
"While there may be questions in terms of optics, I believe we did not violate any process or ethics. Otherwise, it would be difficult for spouses of elected representatives to pursue any career. It can't be like that.”
Amirudin noted that relatives of politicians too have their own professional careers, and that as long as no rules were broken, it should not be an issue.
“If we look at the children of opposition representatives, they are also involved in business. As long as they do not misuse their influence, there is no ethical issue here.However, if they violate the rules by using their family to secure contracts or influence open tenders, then that is indeed problematic.”
Meanwhile, Amirudin said the state is willing to share the minutes of the meetings involving Apad on the appointment of Asia Mobiliti and Badan Bas, to ensure greater transparency.
Yesterday, Ng clarified that the two firms were selected to participate in the POC — which began in November last year and has benefitted over 40,000 users — through a request-for-proposal process.
Earlier this month, the state government also received a proposal from another company, Kumpool Sdn Bhd, to participate in the POC process after receiving Apad approval. The company is being considered for the next phase of the DRT project.
Ng said the state administration is prepared to present the entire request-for-proposal evaluation process to the authorities in the spirit of transparency and accountability.
