Were 31 companies denied chance to join Selangor DRT open tender? MCA youth info chief asks transport minister

KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Transport Minister Anthony Loke should clarify allegations that 31 eligible companies were denied the right to participate in the open tender for the Selangor’s Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) pilot project, MCA youth information chief Neow Choo Seong said.

Neow said that Loke needs to give an explanation over the matter at least for the sake of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's call for transparency and good governance as well as protecting the name of the unity government, Utusan Malaysia reported today.

He added that Selangor Investment, Trade and Mobility Committee chairman Ng Sze Han should step forward to give an explanation to avoid slander and negative perception of the government.

“If true, then why was the Selangor DRT pilot project only awarded to two companies, including the one said to be owned by the husband of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, who is also from DAP, without an open tender?

"If all these 31 companies are not eligible to participate in the open tender for the field in question, can Loke reveal the details for the reason on why they are not eligible?” he was quoted as saying.

Previously, Ng announced that Asia Mobiliti Sdn Bhd was one of two companies appointed to deploy a DRT system in Selangor to avoid a monopoly, because only both of them can provide the highly specialised service to date.

Asia Mobiliti has also been approved by the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) for the project.

One of Asia Mobiliti’s founders is married to Yeoh who was a former member of the Selangor legislative assembly and a member of the DAP, a leading component of the coalition governing the state.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has conducted preliminary investigations and found no signs of power abuse or conflict of interest involving Yeoh.

Its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki told the media previously that the decision to award the contract is up to the Selangor menteri besar and not Yeoh, who is no longer a state assemblyman.

However, MACC later confirmed that the agency is conducting an extensive investigation into allegations surrounding contract awards involving a minister's husband.

The Selangor government announced the appointment of Asia Mobiliti and the second DRT provider, Badan Bas Coach Sdn Bhd, at a public forum organised by the Selangor state government with Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam and Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated on June 15, 2023.

The Selangor Mobiliti brand logo and zone announcement at the Selangor Smart City and Digital Economy Convention was later revealed on October 20, 2023.