Stop letting private firms hold public funds, say anti-graft groups

Malaysia's anti-corruption groups are calling on authorities to cease allowing private companies to hold public funds, following the suspension of MYEG subsidiary Zetrix AI Bhd for failing to remit over RM314 million in road taxes and fines. Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Raymon Ram argued that future fee collection contracts should include stringent safeguards to prevent major revenue defaults, suggesting that all collections should be deposited directly into government accounts, with vendors paid separately.

The organization also proposed implementing predetermined suspension triggers in contracts, allowing for immediate cessation of revenue collection when repeated notices are issued. Zetrix AI Bhd had accumulated the arrears since May, after which the company's services were suspended by the road transport department (JPJ) on Oct 5 following 35 reminders and four engagement sessions.

Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook revealed that the company had submitted a cheque worth RM231 million, but the bank later advised against processing it due to Zetrix's instructions. Raymon criticized the five-month delay in taking action, stating that mere reminders were ineffective control mechanisms when dealing with such substantial public funds.

Bryan Cheah, a senior research officer at the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center), urged authorities to investigate possible corruption and proposed that future procurement policies should enforce a strict code of conduct for private sector players, including clear protocols for addressing non-compliance.