PETALING JAYA: A suit has been filed against the government over a multi-million ringgit vehicle fleet concession.
The suit was over a joint venture (JV) between Berjaya Group and Naza Group filed against the Ministry of Finance (MOF) for terminating a letter of intent (LOI) offered to the JV.
For the JV, Naza had a 51% stake and Berjaya 49% then Berjaya Group’s founder and advisor Tan Sri Vincent Tan yesterday said that the group, in a consortium with Naza Group, was selected to manage the fleet concession by the previous administration through a Letter of Intent (LoI) issued in 2018.
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 here yesterday.
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%.
The Edge Malaysia 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.
