Prasarana Malaysia lodges report with the anti-corruption commission over MMMSL project

Kuala Lumpur, 9 February 2021 – Prasarana Malaysia Berhad announced that it will be lodging a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Companies Commission of Malaysia. The lodges will be based on the findings of the audit and forensic investigations over the operations and maintenance of the MMMSL Project in Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2018.

The MMMSL Project refers to the Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Makkah Metro Southern Line between the Arafat 1 station and Jamarat station in north Mecca. On 16 April 2015, Prasarana, through its subsidiary PRIME Sdn Bhd (PRIME), was awarded a three-year contract to operate and maintain the line, taking over from China Railway Construction Consortium. The project caused Prasarana to incur audited losses that amounted to SAR417 million (MYR452.96 million) for the financial year ending 31 December 2019.

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Speaking at the press conference, YB Dato’ Sri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Prasarana Group of Companies, reiterated that the company’s actions are in line with its commitment to good governance, transparency and accountability. Also present at the press conference was Datuk Dr Yacob Mustafa, Chairman of the Audit Risk Committee.

“We are satisfied with the advice by the Audit Risk Committee that there are grounds for Prasarana to take this matter up with the authorities for investigations and to ensue legal actions to commence,” said Tajuddin.

The decision came at the conclusion of an 18-month internal audit and forensic investigation exercises that also included an audit review by Price Waterhouse Coopers Advisory Services. Among others, the investigation reviewed MMMSL’s pre- and post-tender award processes, overall execution of Prasarana’s contractual obligations, and execution of the maintenance, repair, and overhaul issues pertaining to spare parts in the project. The investigation also looked at the involvement of the then officers and board members, Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd and PRIME.

“This was a challenging investigation as many of the key officers who were involved in the MMMSL Project have left Prasarana and/or PRIME and/or Rapid Rail. The long-distance nature of the project meant that investigations required the co-operation from and assistance of previous subcontractors and consultants based overseas. Additionally, the investigators also needed to sieve through massive amounts of documents, transferred from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia,” explained Tajuddin.

However, Prasarana gave assurance that it will give the authorities its full support and co-operation in their investigations and related legal action. It hopes that the outcome of the investigations will inform its next course of action, including embarking on legal actions where appropriate.

– Construction+ Online

Source: Prasarana Malaysia