Most Documents On Selangor Parking Scheme To Be Declassified

---

Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari says it may be difficult to declassify the main agreement for the Smart Intelligent Parking project as multiple parties are involved.
Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari was a guest on the Keluar Sekejap podcast hosted by Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan.PETALING JAYA: Most of the documents related to the Selangor Intelligent Parking project will be declassified, says menteri besar Amirudin Shari amid calls for greater transparency on the controversial deal
Amirudin acknowledged that some documents had been classified under the Official Secrets Act, but said this was merely standard procedure and would not prevent their disclosure.
He added that some of these documents were just minutes of meetings. “I think there is no problem … we will declassify them soon, because there have already been requests,” he said on the Keluar Sekejap podcast hosted by former Umno leaders Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan.
“Only one thing might be a bit tricky, which is the agreement itself,” he said. “The agreement involves three parties: Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated, the state government, and the company. So the state government could release it. But if the company does not allow it, perhaps due to trade secrets and such, then we might not be able to disclose it.
“But for the other processes involved, I believe there’s no issue to disclose the documents. We will declassify them soon,” he said.
The project has faced scrutiny following reports that an additional concessionaire, Selmax Sdn Bhd, had been roped in shortly after Rantaian Mesra Sdn Bhd was announced as the original operator on July 9.
A Bursa Malaysia filing on July 15 showed that Selmax had secured a long-term concession from several local councils, prompting questions over potential conflicts of interest and transparency.
PKR’s Lee Chean Chung, the MP for Petaling Jaya, has urged the state government to explain why the project’s documents were classified under the Official Secrets Act.
On the other hand, the Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism had called for the tender to be reopened to ensure a credible and accountable process in awarding the concession.
Amirudin maintained the concession process was evaluated thoroughly by MBI Selangor, with a 10% equity stake in Selmax for the state government built into the agreement.
This would ensure that Selangor benefitted directly from the project, he added.
The menteri besar also said the company’s experience and technological capability were key factors in awarding the concession.
“The company has managed parking in another state and now in Kuala Lumpur,” he said, adding that features such as CCTV and smart parking systems would benefit the state in the long-term. - FMT

---