Pua chides ‘sheriffs on high horse' comparing Yeoh case to NFC

Former DAP MP Tony Pua has taken aim at those criticising Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh over the Selangor government’s appointment of Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd (Asia Mobiliti) to be one of two companies to run a bus-on-demand pilot project.

The company’s owner and CEO Ramachandran Muniandy is Yeoh’s husband, while another Asia Mobiliti co-founder Premesh Chandran is a director and former CEO of Malaysiakini.

In a post on Facebook, Pua (above) reserved his wrath for those who compared Yeoh’s position to that of former minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, whose husband - National Feedlot Corporation executive chairperson Mohamad Salleh Ismail - was embroiled in a lawsuit to reclaim a multimillion ringgit loan.

“Oh wow. All the wannabe sheriffs seem to be riding out on their pretentious high horses.

“Even comparing Yeoh to the NFC scandal. Oh wow. Great soundbites. Great clickbaits. Definitely great for the holier-than-thou image.

“She’s the perfect target after all. Blemish-free. Hardworking. Righteous. Fantastic role model. Nearly an angel. All the more juicy and scandalous, if there was even a mere whiff of possible misendeavour,” said former Damansara MP.

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He pointed out that the NFC lawsuit arose over an RM250 million soft loan at a two percent interest (interest-free for three years).

“NFC had no expertise in farming cows and the NFC family purchased luxury bungalows/condominiums for their own use,” claimed Pua.

It should be noted that in October last year, the High Court ruled that the government failed to prove any wrongful use of the RM250 million loan to the company.

Specific performance targets

Pua talked up the track record of Asia Mobiliti, which was founded in 2018, and emphasised that it has very specific performance targets to meet.

“Asia Mobiliti is specialised and has expertise in ‘Demand-Responsive Transit’ (DRT) (bus-on-demand).

“Asia Mobiliti has won multiple awards for its applications and is one of only three companies pre-qualified by the Land Public Transport Agency.

“The Selangor state government awarded two nine-month trial contracts to two of the qualified companies.

“There are very specific performance targets (passenger KPIs) to meet,” he added.

Yesterday, it was reported that the MACC is investigating a project involving a minister’s husband after receiving several complaints and new leads on the matter.

Previously, MACC commissioner Azam Baki reportedly said he had no issues with the appointment as it was made by a different entity - the Selangor state government - and not by Yeoh’s ministry.

Nevertheless, he assured that there would be an investigation if a new lead emerged later.

Reality coloured by perception

Pua went on to claim that Yeoh was too “small fry” to have any influence in the Selangor state government.

“The reality is obvious. Asia Mobiliti secured their contract by merit - which is the key differentiating and defining factor to consider. A scandal is if merit was not applied.

“Asia Mobiliti has to perform to be fully paid.

“Yeoh should be judged by reality, as defined by merit. Unfortunately, reality is often coloured by perception. And in this case, perception is further clouded by self-declared sheriffs on high horses,” he said.

“And unfortunately, perception is a major crux in politics. Like it or not, Yeoh has to deal with it. There was innocence and naivety in the process and she (and Ram) will have to learn from it. But naivety is not guilt or a crime,” Pua added.

He said that Yeoh needs to confirm she has absolutely no involvement with Ram’s business and that she has neither influenced nor attempted to exert any influence in the Selangor state’s administration.

He also urged the minister to declare that she is more than happy for the MACC to carry out their investigations and is ready to fully cooperate.

In addition, Pua said the Selangor state government needs to disclose all minutes and decisions relating to the DRT contracts, its contract with Asia Mobiliti, and details on contract performance to date.

“Going forward, Yeoh should move on and carry on with her exemplary good work. The rest is not in her hands,” he said.

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