Macc Chief Defends Swift Response Over Asia Mobiliti Issue

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MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki defended his swift response yesterday in regard to the Selangor state government project which had courted criticism.
Azam was criticised for saying there was no issue with a Selangor transport project awarded to Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd (Asia Mobiliti) where the husband of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh is the CEO.
According to Azam, it was his duty to clear the air whenever an investigation revealed no offence had been committed.
"Whenever I think there is no case after we have done some interim report, it is time for me to be clear about it because the party involved has been affected so much by the news and all that," he told a briefing session with senior editors in Putrajaya earlier today.
Yesterday, Azam said he saw no issue in the project being awarded to Asia Mobiliti as Yeoh was not involved in its decision-making.
This is because the contract was awarded by a different entity - the Selangor state government - and not by Yeoh’s ministry, the New Straits Times reported him as saying.
‘No offence’
The remarks, however, did not go well with several people, including Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi and Bersatu information chief Razali Idris, who questioned the swift dismissal.
Azam reiterated that MACC found no offence in the awarding of the contract as there was no element of power abuse involving Yeoh.
He said the MACC has to stick to the facts of the case and stressed that they are not politicians.
"...whether it is moral offence, MACC cannot get involved in that.
"If you or the politicians want to call this a moral offence, (then it is) up to you.
"MACC cannot get involved," he said.
‘Get your facts straight’
Azam was also asked to respond to Puad's criticism, where the Umno leader compared Yeoh's case with the MACC probe against the National Feedlot Corporation in 2011.
Puad questioned why MACC investigated the then-Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil but did not take the same approach in Asia Mobiliti's case.
Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad ZarkashiTo this, the MACC chief suggested that Puad get his facts straight, saying that the investigation was against Shahrizat’s husband and not her, and it had led to criminal charges in court.
Meanwhile, Azam told the briefing that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had never meddled in any MACC investigation despite some accusing him of doing so.
Earlier today, Anwar said he would leave the case involving Yeoh to the MACC and that it should be treated like any other case.
Azam said this was a clear indication that the prime minister would not interfere and left the matter entirely to the authorities.
"So, if there is a thing or issue for us to investigate, we will investigate.
"Let's say there is some new lead later on, or issues for us to investigate, then we will (continue to) investigate.
"But for now, I don't see there's a case and I will brief the PM if he asks me. I will tell him that there's nothing to investigate, what more do you want me to do?" he said.
‘Only for nine months’
On May 24, Selangor executive councillor Ng Sze Han defended the decision to select Asia Mobiliti and BadanBas Coach Sdn Bnd for the new demand-responsive transit (DRT) system pilot project under the Selangor Mobility initiative.
“Both companies received approvals from the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) and relevant federal regulators,” Ng, who is in charge of the investment, trade and mobility portfolio, was reported as saying.
He mentioned that Apad approved Asia Mobiliti’s proof of concept on Dec 22, 2022. BadanBas Coach received it on Feb 24 last year.
He added that both companies had presented their application satisfactorily to the state transport committee, adding Apad’s approval also played a role in the consideration.
Asia Mobiliti said in the context of its appointment, it understood the reasons why two companies were chosen instead of one.
However, it added that the appointment is only for nine months and requires extensive investment from both service providers in terms of procuring vehicles, hiring drivers and continuous optimisation and development of the technology that powered the service.
“The state received the best value for its investment and provided the opportunity for two companies to prove themselves and design a new service for the state which is arguably the first of its kind state programme anywhere in Southeast Asia.
“The success of the Selangor Mobility programme has also led to Prasarana and Transport Ministry announcing the adoption of DRT as a replacement for conventional feeder bus services with RapidKL running a wildly successful pilot in May 2023 with Trek Rides in UM-Bangsar South which we continue to operate independently.” - Mkini

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