PETALING JAYA: Consumers have joined in the chorus against the Transport Ministry's decision to award a multi-million-ringgit contract for the nationwide implementation of a speed camera system to catch traffic offenders to two "crony" companies.
The Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam Selangor (Cassa), Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS), and Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) yesterday unanimously condemned the government's lack of transparency in the matter.
FMT last week reported that local company Tess Capital Sdn Bhd cried foul over the decision, claiming that it has been sidelined in the award of the RM700 million contract for the installation of the Automated Enforcement System (AES).
The AES is made up of cameras installed at accident-prone areas and traffic light junctions. The devices can detect speeding vehicles and those who beat the red light. It is also understood that under the second phase of the AES, computer chips will be implanted in licence plates.
Sources had confirmed that the deal will be given to two companies -- Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd and Commercial Circle (M) Sdn Bhd -- whose AES uses foreign technology.
Tess Capital claimed that its AES, the product of its homegrown technology, was "equal, if not better" than its competitors.
Its executive director, Soh Joon Hang, said he has lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate what he claimed was the abuse of power and "manipulation" by the Road Transport Department (RTD) over the tender process in 2007.
Select committee
Tess Capital was established in 2004 and given an MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) status a year later. Soh said his company was officially recognised as AES supplier by the New South Wales government after it had passed a stringent 18-month trial in 2008.
Cassa president Jacob George said the ministry must "nullify all prior decisions" that have been made based on the allegations of impropriety in the tender process that have surfaced.
Jacob urged the government to set up a select committee to investigate the matter, saying he would be keen to also serve in the panel.
"From the very first, this project has been handled in a cloak-and-dagger manner. There were no discussions with stakeholders, including consumer groups, or attempts at getting public opinion on the effectiveness of the AES," said Jacob.
He added that the ministry has "failed miserably" and this will be a very "sad" situation if allowed to continue.
"Now, questions are being asked as to whose interests have been served in this AES case. With the way things are done, the two companies are seen as 'cronies'. Definitely this is a 'cash cow' and somebody is going to walk away with a lot of money."
"If the award is given, then it will become a major scandal,” said Jacob.
Jacob said the ministry should review its decision and reopen dialogue as there are many issues such as the costs that are still not addressed.
"I am talking about looking at maintanence, and how the system may be challenged legally. There are so many major issues that I don't think were addressed when I was in a briefing a month ago by the RTD on AES,” he said.
“We are not talking about buying oranges. The authorities are talking about eradicating 300,000 accidents a year using the AES. This is rubbish. There are no statistics to prove it and we have also seen that statistics on accidents in countries using the system did not drop drastically either," said Jacob.
Classic example
On Tess Capital, Jacob said it was a "classic example" of how the federal government "outsource, use, and then dump" private companies which are given empty promises.
CPPS chairman Ramon Navaratnam said the government should stop signing the deal before it was too late.
"Save yourself the embarrassment," said Navaratnam, adding that a new tender should be called and the criteria for exercise spelled out in a transparent manner.
"Why was it that only two selected companies were selected? Such decisions affect the integrity of the system and goes against the grain of good governance. It also cast doubts on whether the government is serious about open tenders," said Navaratnam.
He added that it will cause the public to "lose confidence" in the government.
"How are we to encourage a culture of excellency if we do not have open tenders? How do we stop local investors and foreign investors from losing interest if they looked at such cases? This is the reason why our economy is not moving fast enough," he said.
Navaratnam added that if all things were equal, local companies should perhaps be given some 5% preferrential margin so to encourage their participation in such large projects.
"I don't mind as long as we are competent; looking at the way some of our companies are doing abroad, I think that there are many that are competent,” said Navaratnam.
Fomca communications director Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said the government should be seeking feedback from consumers before embarking on such a project.
"The government should be transparent. But sadly, it implements projects first and only seek our input when the reaction is negative,” he said, adding that big projects like AES should be discussed in Parliament.
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