KUALA LUMPUR – The founders of Asia Mobiliti said they wanted to be transparent from the start and refused suggestions to use proxies despite public knowledge of its links with a cabinet minister.
Co-founder Ramachandran Muniandy, who is married to Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, said he wanted the firm to secure its appointment as one of two companies for Selangor’s Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) pilot project based on merit.
He also said the RM3.84 million company has always been transparent about its shareholders and business ventures.
“I’m not the first politician’s spouse to be involved in business in Malaysia, I just happen to be the one who is the most transparent (with my business dealings),” he said on the Trick Lama podcast show.
“My face has been on our website from day one. I’m not hiding behind a proxy, we’re out there,” he said.
The podcast show was hosted by the three founders of Big Boom Media, which publishes Scoop – group chief executive Datuk Zainul Ariffin, group executive Datuk Ahirudin Attan (aka Rocky Bru) and group editor-in-chief Terence Fernandez.
Ramachandran also said those raising issues with Asia Mobiliti’s appointment to run the DRT trial are using “information readily accessible on our website and press releases published last year”.
He added that, as Asia Mobiliti cannot control “online perceptions, comments or trolls”, the firm will instead focus on fulfilling its mission to address public transportation issues.
Shareholders
Asia Mobiliti has three directors on its board: Ramachandran, co-founder Premesh Chandran, who is also a co-founder and former CEO of news portal Malaysiakini, and Satyakumar Sanmugasiva, who is also on the board of Selangkah Ventures Sdn Bhd, a Selangor state subsidiary.
Based on Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) records obtained by Scoop, Ramachandran is Asia Mobiliti’s largest shareholder with a RM57,143 stake in the company, followed by Premesh with RM42,857 shares, while Satyakumar holds RM15, 873 shares.
Satyakumar’s presence in Asia Mobiliti is through an entity known as DVE Sapta Sdn Bhd, in which the son-in-law of the late former MIC deputy president Tan Sri S. Subramaniam holds a RM45 million share, while Stockland Venture Sdn Bhd holds the remaining RM11.2 million shares.
Another notable investor in Asia Mobiliti is local airline AirAsia’s operator, Capital A Bhd, whose fully-owned subsidiary, Redbeat Capital Sdn Bhd, holds the same amount of shares as Premesh, the co-founder and former chief executive officer of news portal MalaysiaKini.
Redbeat Capital’s shares in Asia Mobiliti were transferred to it through AirAsia Digital Sdn Bhd, which ceased to be a shareholder on October 18, 2023.
Affirming the above, Ramachandran said AirAsia Digital was Asia Mobiliti’s first investor when the technology company launched its operations in 2018, while Satyakumar’s DVE Sapta joined as an investor two years later.
“In 2020, we raised another round of funding, (which saw) the participation of DVE Sapta, owned by Satyakumar, who has invested in many other startups as part of his portfolio,” Ramachandran said.
“During our last round of funding in 2022, DVE Sapta enlarged their stake and we also had a number of private ventures join us.
“We want to show that we’re a Malaysian company, no matter who runs it, without any puppet strings behind us. Our owner, co-owners, it’s all there (with) SSM records for everyone to see. There’s no question of who is actually behind us.”
Aiming for the rest of Asia
The company, Selangor government and Yeoh are currently in the spotlight over Ramachandran’s ties to the minister amid concerns that the proof-of-concept phase of the DRT was awarded to his firm without an open tender. The proof-of-concept period is from November 2023 to July 2024.
Selangor Investment, Trade and Mobility executive councillor Ng Sze Han has said the decision to involve only Asia Mobiliti and another firm, Badan Bas Coach Sdn Bhd, in the proof-of-concept phase was based on the fact that they were the only companies licenced by the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad).
Each company received equal funding of RM2.1 million from Selangor, disbursed in three phases to prevent abuse of state funds and to subsidise users during the proof-of-concept.
Ramachandran said the criticism received has renewed the company’s ambition to broaden its horizons.
“Our mission is not just for Selangor, but we’re targeting Asia as a whole, (and) we’re really going to commit to an aggressive expansion in Southeast Asia, with conversations on the matter having already been initiated.
“The partners we’ve been talking to regarding our expansion plans are even more excited to work with us now. Let that be proof in the pudding that we’re going to fulfil our mission with the full backing of our board and shareholders.”
Meanwhile, Premesh said Asia Mobiliti welcomed competitors within the public transportation industry, as multiple players in the field will ultimately benefit the public.
“We’re not against having competitors (as) we’re not saying we should be the only ones in the game. The more people offering solutions for public transportation, the better.
“The government made a good decision by having more than one player. With the potential inclusion of Kumpool Sdn Bhd, there could even be three players and there might even be a fourth. That’s fine; you need healthy competition to understand which technology works best.”
Besides Asia Mobiliti, BadanBas Coach Sdn Bhd is also involved in the proof-of-concept process for the DRT pilot project, while Kumpool has recently obtained approval from Apad to run another DRT proof-of-concept.
The DRT system is a shared transportation service that groups passengers based on their locations and sends vehicles accordingly. This system can adjust routes on-demand, unlike traditional services that adhere to fixed routes and schedules.
Since Asia Mobiliti implemented the service beginning last November through its application called Trek Rides, the company has recorded a ridership of over 17,000 individuals, said Ramachandran.
“When our current public transportation, for buses especially, follows a fixed route and schedule that locks in their frequency, coverage and access become a problem.
“The solution to that is not just to put more buses on the road, as that will be exorbitantly expensive. Instead, we must optimise and balance supply and demand by making our service more demand-responsive,” he added.
While Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Tan Sri Azam Baki previously said the anti-graft agency has no issue with Asia Mobiliti’s selection for the pilot project, the authority is now investigating the matter after receiving “new complaints” and “new leads”. – June 3, 2024