Spanco Chairman Tan Sri Robert Tan Hua Choon has been charged in court for cheating the Ministry of Finance of Malaysia in awarding a contract worth RM3.9 billion to his company.
The matter blew over after another contender led by Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan called out the awarding of the contract to Spanco as illegal.
Berjaya formed a 49:51 consortium with Naza in 2018 to jointly bid for the contract. The deal reportedly involved around 12,500 vehicles worth an estimated RM300 million annually starting after the fifth year.
Tan said the consortium had received the LoI from the Finance Ministry to replace the fleet management provider Spanco Sdn Bhd.
“We have filed a lawsuit against the ministry on this, and we are waiting to go to court this year. You will hear more of this down the road,“ he said at a press conference on the sale of Berjaya group’s waste management business to Naza Group for RM700 million on Monday.
The LOI was said to have been terminated three months after former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin took over from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government.
“They (government) terminated us and gave it to Spanco (Sdn Bhd). The government agreed to spend RM700 million more (compared to the JV’s bid). The government thinks Berjaya and Naza are not good enough in the car business.
“We have filed a legal suit against [the] MOF on this and we are ready to go to court on this. You will hear more of this down the road,” Tan was reported as saying at the press conference.
According to Tan, the tender by the JV was the lowest among all bidders. He pointed out that stakes in the JV have changed, with Berjaya now holding 40%.
At that time ex-Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh called on MACC to investigate the suit filed by Berjaya group founder against the finance ministry and fleet management company Spanco over the concession deal lost by Naza-Berjaya after the consortium had been awarded the rights to it.
Wong, who is the Taiping MP, added this was necessary given the issue of the termination of the letter of intent (LOI) offered to the Naza-Berjaya consortium came about after Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin took over as the eighth prime minister (PM) in March 2020.
“He (Tan) also claimed that the contract awarded to Spanco was RM700 mil higher,” Wong who is also the DAP’s political education director pointed out in a media statement.
“TS Vincent Tan’s allegation is very serious. What is alleged clearly shows non-compliance in the tender process by the (Perikatan Nasional) government in 2020 led by TS Muhyiddin).”
It was reported that Spanco has been maintaining the government’s vehicle fleet since 1994. It was reported earlier that the government has asked interested parties to submit a request-for-proposal (RFP) on the fleet concession, after Spanco’s 25-year concession ended in December 2018, it added.
Among contenders for the contract is Spanco, which is a vehicle of tycoon Tan Sri Robert Tan Hua Choon. Other bidders include DRB-Hicom Bhd, Samling Group, and the JV between Naza Group and Berjaya Group.
