A Taiwanese compact disc (CD) maker said it was wrong to have implicated "the ruling party and the Malaysian government" in a deal gone wrong between the company and a Malaysian firm.

Gengo International Co Ltd general manager Hsu Yuan-Chang told malaysiakini that he has come to know now that the Malaysian government and Umno, the key party in the ruling coalition, did not authorise and take part in the purchasing of the CDs.

Hsu said Gengo entered into a contract with Nor Azami Bersatu Teguh Sdn Bhd (NABT) last August after being deceived into believing that NABT was acting on behalf of Umno and the government.

Gengo is claiming a total of US$5.4 million (RM20.3 million) for breach of contract from NABT as well as from another Malaysian firm, First Choice Partners (M) Sdn Bhd, which acted as an intermediary for the purchase.

Hsu said NABT has failed to pay RM3.9 million after the delivery of five million pieces of blank CDs.

"This is purely an abuse of the Malaysian government and Umno's names by NABT to cheat and commit fraud. Again, my company declares our deep apology to the Malaysian government and Umno for linking them to this matter," said Hsu.

Hsu said that he had entered into the agreement based on claims made by NABT that the two companies represented the Malaysian government and Umno, and was promoting several major government projects such as the Smart School, telemedicine and electronic government within the Multimedia Super Corridor.

Malaysiakini reported on Feb 13 Gengo's predicament when it was left in the lurch by NABT after the Taiwanese company had delivered five million pieces of blank CDs to the latter ([#1] 'Umno-backed company' owes us RM3.9 mil, claims Taiwanese firm[/#] ).

Half a billion CDs deal

Hsu said the contracts for the CDs were signed in August last year for the supply of 510 million pieces of CDs for a duration of 30 months.

He said that NABT had failed to pay for the first five million pieces and gave various reasons for the delay in payment.

He added that the non-payment has caused Gengo much loss as it had declined other orders after signing the agreement to supply for the two Malaysian companies.

On Nov 10, when no payment was in sight, Gengo gave NABT until Nov 16 to settle the matter. Until today, NABT has yet to pay Gengo.

In desperation, Gengo also wrote to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad 12 times, asking for his help, believing that the deal involved a company with close links to the ruling party.