Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Azmin Ali has reassured that Darul Ehsan Investment Group’s (DEIG) governance issues will be resolved before it begins operations next year.

He claimed that based on the debates on DEIG in the state assembly yesterday, the assemblypersons were in consensus that DEIG was a good move and were only concerned about governance issues.

“Everyone agrees to DEIG’s formation. The only issues raised were issues of governance and management. So we are addressing that now,” Azmin ( photo ) told reporters when met at the state assembly lobby in Shah Alam today.

He said the recommendations by the Select Committee on Government Agencies, Statutory Bodies, and State Subsidiary Companies (JP-Abas) on DEIG that was tabled in the state assembly yesterday was already being looked into.

The Selangor government has until the state assembly’s next session in November to respond to the JP-Abas report, which contained two main recommendations.

The first is that the state government tables a white paper to explain the DEIG’s role and governance system to convince the state assembly that DEIG is needed and its planning is comprehensive.

The second recommendation is that DEIG postpones all activities, pending the tabling of the white paper, particularly those involving joint ventures with the private sector.

The recommendations of the state assembly’s select committees are not legally binding for the state government to act upon.

Allegations denied

Meanwhile, Azmin, JP-Abas members, and Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) top executives, also separately denied various allegations being spread online regarding DEIG.

Among the allegations addressed are claims that DEIG is owned by MBI chief executive Raja Shahreen Raja Othman and chief operating officer Soffan Affendi Aminuddin, claims that DEIG already has billions in state assets under its control despite having only RM2 in paid-up capital.

Azmin said that DEIG is wholly owned by the state statutory body MBI since last month, and the issue of a RM2 company controlling RM6 billion in state assets does not arise because it has yet to start operations and now controls no assets at all.

“So to suggest a RM2 company manages RM6 billion in assets, this is a malicious lie. DEIG does not own any assets, (it has) zero assets because it has yet to start operations.

“When it starts operations, it has to ensure that this governance issue is settled first. The governance structure must be clear before it can commence operations,” he said.

He added that when it starts operations, the DEIG’s paid up capital will be ramped up, and there are many ways to achieve this.

'No state assets'

At a separate press conference at the state assembly lobby later, JP-Abas members also confirmed that DEIG does not have any state assets, and is owned by MBI itself and not its executives Raja Shahreen and Soffan Affendi.

JP-Abas member Yeo Bee Yin ( photo ) emphasised that in its report passed in the state assembly yesterday, it was highlighted that MBI and its subsidiaries have yet to transfer its assets to DEIG due to high stamp duty.

At yet another press conference at the same venue later, Raja Shahreen said DEIG is still in its first phase, which is to incorporate the company and set up the various boards within.

At this moment, he said the only assets that DEIG control are its RM2 in paid-up capital, and this will remain the case until it commences operations, he said.

"If you say that we have RM30 billion worth of assets, I’m impressed. We have not started anything," he quipped.

"This is to ensure that accountability is clear," Soffan Affendi added.

"Imagine if you put in capital - say, RM10 million - then the question of transparency will be… you know," he said.

To quell fears that DEIG would end up like 1MDB that has raked up RM42 billion in debt, Raja Shahreen said DEIG will not be borrowing money to make investments, because it doesn’t need to.