Prime minster Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has mentioned the federal government is dedicated to combatting corruption amid the fleet undertaking tender scandal involving Spanco for the provision, restore and upkeep of presidency automobiles.

In a report by NST, Anwar mentioned thorough investigations shall be carried out and decisive actions by enforcers shall be taken in opposition to all events concerned within the case. He revealed that he had been vigilant about this subject throughout his tenure as finance minister throughout Tun Dr Mahathir’s administration.

“It appeared as if everybody remained silent, detached to the enforcement actions being undertaken. Some might label this an outdated political vendetta, however everybody was concerned in utilising Spanco’s amenities. I’ve persistently voiced issues about this subject since my time because the finance minister. I recognised irregularities in that contract, which proved detrimental to the nation and deprived civil servants,” mentioned Anwar.

“Nonetheless, there wanted to be extra urgency, and no concrete actions had been taken, revealing a deficiency in political willpower. “This isn’t the case now; I commend the inland income board (LHDN) and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Fee (MACC) for his or her steadfast dedication to fulfilling their duties and investigating these concerned,” he added.

Spanco was established in 1988 and was given a 25-year concession settlement in 1993 to supply and lease automobiles with full upkeep companies for the federal government. On the finish of December 2018, the settlement expired and the federal government referred to as for tenders in February 2019 for a contract to produce, preserve and handle its fleet of official vehicles for the following 15 years.

Within the interim interval, Spanco was given two extensions of six months every in 2019 to proceed managing the fleet till the tip of that yr, with an extra third extension reportedly given till June 2020.

In line with the Berjaya group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan, the Naza-Berjaya consortium was picked by the federal government to deal with the fleet concession by the earlier administration by way of a letter of intent (LoI) that was issued in 2019. A yr later, the ministry of finance introduced it has chosen a brand new concessionaire to handle the federal government’s car fleet however didn’t title the corporate – it was broadly believed it was the Naza-Berjaya consortium that gained the tender.

In July 2023, Tan mentioned the Naza-Berjaya consortium had its LoI terminated unfairly earlier than the accrual award was set to be introduced. A lawsuit was filed in opposition to the finance ministry and Spanco, with Tan claiming that the contract was awarded to Spanco regardless of the consortium profitable the bid with a proposal that’s RM700 million lower than Spanco’s. He additionally referred to as for an MACC investigation on the problem.

In January this yr, the MACC raided a residence of a businessman holding the title Tan Sri as a part of an investigation into corruption allegations associated to the procurement and administration of the federal government’s fleet of automobiles valued at RM4.5 billion.

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki introduced earlier this week that people concerned within the choices to award contracts for the provision and administration of presidency automobiles to Spanco shall be summoned to help within the investigation, together with a former prime minister and finance minister.

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