KUALA LUMPUR – Controversial IT solutions firm Bestinet Sdn Bhd, the sole operator of the government’s Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), was still being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as of January this year.
This is according to the recently published Hansard on proceedings of an inquiry by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on January 22, which saw Bestinet chief executive Ismail Mohd Noor appearing before the committee as a witness.
Also present during the proceeding was MACC investigations division deputy director Khairul Nurrahim Ashadi Abdullah, who informed the PAC that the graftbusters are still probing into Bestinet.
“We are still handling investigations (into Bestinet),” he said briefly, according to proceeding transcripts, when questioned on the matter by PAC chairperson Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.
The above testimony before the PAC raises questions on the cabinet’s decision to extend Putrajaya’s relationship with Bestinet following the expiration of its six-year contract with the Home Ministry to develop, supply, provide and maintain the FWCMS on May 31.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had on June 24 reportedly confirmed the three-year contract extension following reports by several media outlets on the matter, with the minister stating then that the cabinet had finalised the decision “a few weeks ago”.
While the exact date of the cabinet’s decision and the terms of the extended contract remain unknown, Mas Ermieyati told a press conference today that the PAC will be scrutinising the matter in follow-up proceedings scheduled to be held within three months from now.
Scoop has contacted MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki to verify if Bestinet was still under investigation at the time of the cabinet’s decision to extend the firm’s contract, but has yet to receive a response.
The query to the MACC representative came after Bestinet’s Ismail was quizzed by PAC member Sim Tze Tzin regarding news reports on a raid conducted by MACC on Bestinet’s office in July 2022.
The raid was reportedly carried out after Bestinet faced allegations of corruption and abuse of power involving the selection of 25 Bangladeshi agencies for migrant worker recruitment.
Reports on the raid also noted that Bangladeshi national-turned-Malaysian citizen Datuk Seri Mohd Amin Abdul Nor, who is said to be linked with Bestinet, was among several figures questioned by MACC on their supposed involvement in the selection process for the agencies.
While it was reported that no company personnel were arrested during the operation, Ismail told the PAC that he and a technology officer were “summoned and remanded for three days”, during which they “slept in MACC’s lock-up”.
He also claimed that the anti-graft agency had found no misdeeds during its investigations, pointing out that no charges have been brought against the company, its managers or shareholders. – July 3, 2024