Selayang Council Claims Ignorance Of Royalty Link In Selangor Parking Contracts

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The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) has claimed it was in the dark over a royalty link to a company awarded a concession within its jurisdiction under the Selangor government’s initiative to privatise street parking.
The local council asserted to Malaysiakini that it had “no knowledge” of the link to the Selangor palace, as the decision to appoint the company was made by the state government.
MPS said this in response to queries based on Malaysiakini’s report, which detailed Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah’s 16.5 percent beneficial stake in Selmax Sdn Bhd, which has received three concessions thus far under the Selangor Intelligent Parking (SIP) scheme.
“The appointment (of Selmax as the SIP system manager) was made by the Selangor government with reference to the state executive council,” MPS said when asked if it was aware of Tengku Amir Shah’s shareholding before Selmax’s appointment.
When queried on whether the royalty’s involvement in Selmax was a topic during deliberations before its appointment, MPS affirmed that it has “no knowledge” regarding the matter.
“The concession appointment for parking management in MPS was made by the Selangor government,” it maintained.
Selangor State Secretariat buildingMPS, it added, provided an offer letter to Selmax on June 30 for the provision of “smart parking management services” starting July 1.
“However, discussions between both parties were held to reach an agreement on the contents of the letter of acceptance,” it said.
10-year contract, five-year extension option
In an earlier Bourse filing, Selmax’s parent company, ITMAX System Bhd, recorded that Selmax had only received and accepted a revised letter of appointment on Sept 2. 
ITMAX System said the amended letter of appointment, dated Aug 29, was awarded by MPS to Selmax for the latter to be the SIP operator. 
The filing stated that the appointment has a contract period of 10 years, with an option to extend for an additional five years “subject to the assessment by MPS” and Rantaian Mesra Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned unit of Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) (MBI), tasked with overseeing the SIP rollout.
Based on Malaysiakini’s checks, the heir apparent of Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah holds a stake in Selmax via two other holding companies: Tanah Perwira Sdn Bhd and Greyscale Holdings Sdn Bhd.
Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir ShahIncorporated in March last year, Tanah Perwira, a minority shareholder of Selmax, is wholly owned by Greyscale Holdings, a three-year-old company in which Tengku Amir Shah owns a majority 55 percent slice.
Besides MPS, two other local councils have also awarded concessions to Selmax for the management of the SIP system: the Shah Alam City Council and the Subang Jaya City Council.
As of press time, the Petaling Jaya City Council is the only local council that backed out of the arrangement with Selmax.
Under the concession agreement with Selmax, 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 the company, which is set to receive the bigger share.
The remaining 10 percent is intended to go to Rantaian Mesra.
Track record of operating parking systems
Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari’s aide previously told Malaysiakini that MBI had headed a public request-for-proposal process, which saw the participation of 26 companies, after which only three were called back to present a detailed proposal.
Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari“The company, which was ultimately picked by MBI, had a track record of already operating parking systems in Johor, and was also a publicly listed company,” said Amirudin’s press secretary, Jay Jay Denis.
Graft watchdog C4 Center has since criticised the state government’s apparent lack of transparency in the SIP initiative, warning that the involvement of royalty figures must trigger enhanced due diligence and disclosure mechanisms.
PKR lawmaker Lee Chean Chung has also urged the state government to issue an official explanation on the matter, stressing that the clarification is necessary to ensure that no party, including the royal institution, is subjected to “unnecessary assumptions”. - Mkini

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