KUALA LUMPUR – Asia Mobiliti Technologies is only being asked to prove its capabilities in running the Selangor Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) project and has not been awarded a contract, Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin said.
She said the firm, which is under scrutiny for being awarded the pilot phase of the project while having personal connections with Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, has nine months to prove itself, after which she said she believed the Selangor government would call for tenders if the DRT proves feasible.
Yeo, who was Selangor assemblyman for Damansara Utama from 2013 to 2018, said the state was looking at the DRT as a cheaper public transport solution compared to providing Selangor with free bus service, which has seen low ridership since its introduction in 2013.
“Selangor is wasting money (with the free bus service) because the bus is always empty. So the DRT can save costs for the state government.
“The state is looking for companies that can provide a cheaper service. In the whole of Malaysia, only two companies have the licence to operate the bus on demand system. So the Selangor government appointed them (Asia Mobiliti and Badan Bas Coach Sdn Bhd) to do a proof of concept (PoC).
“It is not a contract. It is a PoC for nine months. Meaning to say, you are not awarded (a contract) yet. It’s an opportunity for you to prove your case. It’s a PoC or pilot,” Yeo told reporters at a Wanita DAP event today.
She said she was not giving an explanation to take “any side” but to provide the full picture amid controversy over perceived nepotism and abuse of power involving Asia Mobiliti, whose co-founder and CEO is Yeoh’s husband, Ramachandran Muniandy.
“Every time the government wants to do a project, we have to do a pilot first, especially for new concepts. The government has to know if it will work as it is going to spend the public’s money.
“If you were the government of Selangor and you wanted to do this project, and only two companies in Malaysia can do it, what would you do? You choose only one? Or let both of them prove their case?
“So, it is sensible for the state govt to choose both. You prove yourself for nine months, if you don’t prove yourself, then the case is closed. If you prove yourself, then the tender process will be held,” Yeo said.
Explaining how the DRT works, Yeo said the app-based system with a RM1 to RM2 fee will take users to their destinations but will also pick up other riders along the way.
Asia Mobiliti’s link with Yeoh was highlighted recently on social media by a user with the handle Aduan Rakyat, who questioned the merits of the company’s selection and asked if it was awarded through an open tender, noting that Yeoh’s husband was involved in the company.
Selangor exco Ng Sze Han defended Asia Mobiliti’s appointment on grounds it had been approved by the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) under the Transport Ministry in December 2022. The state issued a letter of intent on June 15, 2023, and an appointment letter in September.
However, Ng has been accused of failing to clarify the issue of alleged nepotism, with Selangor opposition lawmaker Datuk Harisson Hassan noting that Yeoh and Transport Minister Anthony Loke are both in the cabinet and from DAP.
Another Selangor opposition assemblyman, Muhammad Hilman Idham, has urged the state to make public the contract details of the RM25 million DRT project.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief, Tan Sri Azam Baki has said the agency had no issue with the appointment as the contract to Asia Mobiliti did not come from Yeoh’s ministry.
The company itself, meanwhile, has said there are no other qualified companies capable of handling the DRT other than Asia Mobiliti and Badan Bas, and an open tender would have resulted in a monopoly. – May 29, 2024