Transport Minister must explain why there was no open competitive tender for the AES

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha must remember that the AES is not a question of politics but a question of economic integrity that he must explain why there was no open competitive tender but only a closed invited tender in installing 831 1Malaysia cameras throughout Malaysia. I am given to understand only 9 companies were invited for the open competitive tender but only 7 submitted bids.

DAP has no problems if the Federal Government is sincere in its initiative to ensure public safety and that motorists adhere to traffic regulations. However the government has allowed the 2 concessionaires of the AES were collect commission based on the number of summonses issued. Clearly this will benefit the two concessionaires at the expense of 28 millon Malaysians.

That means the concessionaires – ATES Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd – are able to recoup their investment through a three-tiered system paid out from a pool of settled summons:

  • Tier 1: RM16 for each of the first five million summonses issued (RM80 million).

  • Tier 2: 50% of the balance of the revenue collected for the next RM540 million, up to RM270 million. The government gets an equal amount.

  • Tier 3: 7.5% of the remaining revenue after that. The government will get to keep the rest.

Assuming more than RM5 billion collection per year, the two concessionaires will gain RM80 million under the first tier, RM270 million under the second tier and RM350 million under the third tier – a handsome total of RM700 million for one year’s work.

Apart from reaping the revenue of RM700 million a year, there is skepticism of the huge cost claimed by both concessionaires in installing the 831 cameras. Does it cost RM 600-800 million as claimed by both company to install the 831 cameras which would cost RM722,000-RM962,000 per camera?

Such failure is not new as was proven by the RM365 million Integrated Transport Information System (ITIS) scandal, an eight-year-old traffic monitoring system in Kuala Lumpur of traffic, accidents and roadworks that the Auditor-General’s Report 2011 has highlighted for wastages and described as “unsatisfactory”. Unfortunately, despite the RM365 million spent, there has been no full accountability.

The Transport Ministry must fully account to the public these questions about AES and whether there was an open competitive tender. Unless such issues are fully addressed, Malaysian motorists have a right to be angry that cronies of BN has once again benefited fully at the expense of ordinary Malaysians.

Penang will not allow the installation of 1Malaysia cameras until a full briefing is obtained. Kong should stick to his earlier instruction that local councils will decide whether to install or not, when even Kong’s officers had sought co-peration and approval of the state and local government to install them.

Summons should be issued to penalize traffic offenders in the hope that they will comply and not break the law again. For this reason, DAP calls for an immediate suspension of the AES until there is a full accounting of these issues of public interest. Motorists should not be compelled to spend most of their salary to pay up these traffic summonses. Remember BRIM’S RM 500 can not help you if you are issued 2 summonses of RM600 – you still end up losing RM100.

Lim Guan Eng DAP Secretary General & MP for Bagan