Datasonic wins RM21m govt vending machine deal in open tender

Datasonic Group Sdn Bhd has won an RM21.26m deal to rent out 818 vending machines to the Economy Ministry.

Announcing this to Bursa Malaysia, Datasonic said the two-year contract will contribute positively to its earnings.

Malaysiakini understands that Datasonic is one of several firms selected in the open tender to supply 4,900 vending machines as part of the People’s Income Initiative.

The government’s procurement website, e-Perolehan, states that the tender call was closed in March and had attracted 22 bidders.

The winners have yet to be announced on the e-Perolehan website.

Under the initiative, the government seeks to provide infrastructure to support micro-entrepreneurs, who will supply the food items sold via the vending machines.

The vending machine deal announcement came days after Datasonic announced it will supply RM30 million worth of smart cards to Perum Percetakan Negara Republik Indonesia (PNRI), a unit of the Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises Ministry, in a deal that will run over one to three years.

On June 4, Datasonic also secured a five-year extension to a Home Ministry contract worth RM181.66 million, including to supply MyKad, MyTentera and MyPoca (for previous convicts) cards and consumables to the National Registration Department.

It also received a contract extension worth RM142.98 million to supply passport chips, polycarbonate biodata pages and other passport documents to the Immigration Department.

Corruption case

Datasonic was in the headlines in 2021 after Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was charged with corruption by accepting RM6 million from Syarikat Sarana Kencana Sdn Bhd in 2017 as an inducement for awarding Datasonic a contract to supply passport chips to the government.

The case has since been classified as dismissed not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).

During the trial, Zahid denied that the funds, received through former Datasonic Group deputy managing director Chew Ben Ben, were an inducement and said the money was used for charitable purposes through his foundation Yayasan Akalbudi.

Zahid also said the passport chips procurement was under the purview of the Finance Ministry and he had no say.

Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd, a Datasonic subsidiary, was awarded a contract by the Finance Ministry in 2015 to supply 12.5 million chips to be inserted into the polycarbonate biodata page of Malaysian passports.

Chew, who is no longer part of Datasonic, had during the 2021 trial testified he considers political contributions as a form of charitable donation, and that the donation to BN was to support “long-term” prospects and political stability.

In July 2018, Datasonic also made a RM1 million contribution to Tabung Harapan Malaysia, set up by the then-Pakatan Harapan administration to provide a legitimate avenue for Malaysians wanting to donate to the government to help ease the national debt.

Datasonic Technologies had in April that year secured an RM270.71 million contract from the Home Ministry to supply 9.96 million polycarbonate biodata pages to the Immigration Department.

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