Royal Link In Selangor Carpark Concessions

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A member of the Selangor royal family has been linked to a company awarded three concessions thus far under the Selangor state government’s initiative to privatise street parking.
Malaysiakini’s checks found that the Raja Muda of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah, has a beneficial 16.5 percent stake in the appointed firm, Selmax Sdn Bhd, through two other holding companies: Tanah Perwira Sdn Bhd and Greyscale Holdings Sdn Bhd.
Incorporated in March last year, Tanah Perwira is a minority shareholder of Selmax, a subsidiary of ITMAX System Bhd, with the listed company controlling 70 percent of Selmax’s three million shares.
ITMAX System itself is majority-owned by Sena Holdings Sdn Bhd, with the remaining shares held by several other entities, including government-linked companies and unnamed investors via nominee firms.
Tanah Perwira’s RM100 issued share capital, in turn, is wholly owned by Greyscale Holdings - a three-year-old company in which the heir apparent of Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah holds a majority 55 percent slice.
While no financial information for Selmax was disclosed in Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) documents sighted by Malaysiakini, both Tanah Perwira and Greyscale Holdings appear to be operating at a loss.
For the financial year ended Feb 28, Tanah Perwira slipped into the red with a seemingly modest loss of RM8,825, with its parent firm Greyscale Holdings netting a heftier loss of RM12.54 million.
Tengku Amir Shah’s fellow Greyscale Holdings shareholder, Ashwin Jonathan Sabapathy, is the son of real estate mogul Jaganath Derek Steven Sabapathy, who founded his own property development company, Tribeca Real Estate Asset Management Sdn Bhd.
Malaysiakini has reached out to the Selangor royal palace for their comments on the matter, but has yet to receive a response.
While the Selangor Menteri Besar’s office has also not responded to Malaysiakini’s queries, the state government has consistently defended its decision to start privatising the management of its public parking bays.
State executive councillor Ng Suee Lim previously assured that under the scheme, local councils are expected to collect “more revenue than before”, due to system efficiency improvements, digitalisation, and centralised monitoring.
Ng, who holds the local government and tourism portfolio, also noted that local councils will not bear any operational costs under the SIP.
Ng has also not responded to Malaysiakini’s requests for comments on the royal link.
Deals with local councils
Established in March this year, Selmax’s nature of business, as detailed in its company profile, deals with the supply, installation, and provision of “public space networked systems”, as well as the operation of parking facilities for motor vehicles.
Within six months of its establishment, Selmax had secured three concessions to manage the Selangor Intelligent Parking (SIP) system for the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA), the Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ), and the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS).
The awards are said to span 10 years with an optional five-year extension, subject to assessments by the respective local councils and Rantaian Mesra Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned unit of Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) tasked with overseeing the SIP rollout.
As of press time, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is the only local council under the current phase of the SIP which remains outside the arrangement with Selmax.
On Sept 23, it was reported that MBPJ mayor Zahri Samingon refused to sign a deal to allow the SIP’s implementation, pending the resolution of “all uncertainties”.
The Star quoted Zahri as saying then that since MBPJ has an “exemplary” parking revenue of RM13.8 mil annually, the council requires a guarantee that the adoption of the new system will see it gaining the same or higher revenue than what it currently gets.
Two days later, Zahri said that while an agreement has been reached with Selmax, matters regarding the percentage of profits to be allocated to the council remain unfinalised.
He also noted that while the three other local councils had accepted the deal with SIP, their agreements will only be inked “at the end of the year”.
According to a document on the Selangor state legislative assembly's website, MBSA recorded the highest amount of parking charges collection in 2023 with RM21.93 million, followed by MBPJ (RM19.96 million), MBSJ (RM6.50 million), and MPS (RM4.71 million).
Under the concession agreement with Selmax, however, the local councils would each be compelled to share revenue from parking fees, monthly passes, two-hour zones, and compounds in a 50-40 percent split with Selmax, which is set to receive the bigger share.
The remaining 10 percent is intended to go to the state government’s Rantaian Mesra.
Move’s legality
In a bourse filing on Aug 1, ITMAX System said Selmax will be responsible for the emoluments and bonuses of parking attendants posted at gazetted car park spaces under the local councils’ jurisdiction, as well as maintain the parking areas, and deploy monitoring cameras alongside enforcement vehicles.
The revenue breakdown previously courted controversy, with PKR’s Selayang MP William Leong questioning the legality of the move while stressing that revenue generated by local councils is meant for the well-being of residents - not to allow private entities to make profits.
Leong’s fellow PKR MP, Lee Chean Chung, had also warned the Selangor government against risking a repeat of failures by past administrations, emphasising that public policy should be shaped by expertise, not maximising profits with “narrowly defined” agreements.
Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean ChungExpressing similar sentiments, veteran journalist R Nadeswaran had recommended that the privatisation scheme be deferred pending a formal inquiry by the Selangor Special Select Committee on Competence, Accountability, and Transparency (Selcat).
Lee had also taken the state government to task later over its purported rejection of a resident’s request to access SIP-related documents, slamming the alleged restriction as a serious setback to transparency and accountability.
Asserting he had received a complaint from the resident, the Petaling Jaya MP said the request was denied on the grounds that the documents were classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972. - Mkini

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