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KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has concluded that there was no strong justification for TC Sens Sdn Bhd to be awarded the Road Fare System (RC) and Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) project for a total RM149.45 million through direct trading between 2016 and 2018.
The project involved two contracts, namely the Capital Expenditure Contract (CAPEX) for a value of RM 45.15 million signed on September 14, 2016, and the Operating Expense Contract (OPEX) for a value of 104 , 30 million ringgit signed on May 7, 2018.
PAC President Wong Kah Woh said that the award of the project through direct negotiation under the Ministry of Transport (MOT) did not achieve the original goal, which was to accelerate the implementation of projects required by the government.
“The selection of TC Sens Sdn Bhd was presented to the then Prime Minister without a thorough and in-depth assessment of the company’s financial and technical capacity to carry out the RC / VEP project,” he said in a statement today.
Wong said there was also political influence in the appointment of the contractor or supplier for the project.
“The RC and VEP System project was a MOT project with the Department of Highway Transportation as the implementing agency. The system was mainly installed at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) in Bangunan Sultan Iskandar and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex, Johor, ”he said.
Wong said that some weaknesses were found in the administration and implementation of the contract, namely a 16-month delay in signing the contract, payments were made before the Final Acceptance Test (FAT) was completed and the appointment of a third in the Project implementation was carried out without the approval of the ministry.
“The RC / VEP project was delayed. Three time extensions (EOTs) were approved for the system integration requirements and the role of the contractor as a vendor rather than a competent solution provider has also contributed to the delay, ”he said.
Therefore, he said that the PAC recommended several measures to the government, including that the Ministry of Finance guarantees that all future direct negotiation decisions must have a solid justification.
He said that enforcement agencies including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should heed the PAC finding and investigate accordingly.
“Members of Parliament must declare the importance of companies to the corresponding ministry if the companies involve government projects.
“The government must ensure that no exemption is granted to any project that must undergo the evaluation process through a committee at the ministerial level that includes the Value Management Laboratory and the ICT Technical Committee of the MAMPU,” he said.
Following the findings reported in the 2017 Auditor General’s Report Series 2, which was presented in Parliament on December 3, 2018, Wong said that the PAC had initiated proceedings on this issue by calling Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman, the then Secretary General from MOT in February. March 20, 2019, followed by former Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai on March 27, 2019 and former MOT Secretary General Ismail Bakar on April 3, 2019.
“On September 3, 2019, the PAC called former Tanjung Piai Deputy Wee Jeck Seng about his stake as a shareholder of TC Sens Sdn Bhd. The PAC then called the company’s CEO, Tan Chean Suan, on October 23 of 2019, “he said. .
