Public Accounts Committee chairman Wong Kah Woh said this was among the conclusions made by PAC in its proceedings regarding the AES project under the transport ministry, Bernama reported.

Another conclusion made by PAC was that the implementation of the AES through outsourcing was highly inappropriate in the first place as it should have been solely conducted by the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

In a statement on PAC’s proceedings, which started on Nov 16, 2020, to look into the AES project, Wong said the takeover cost for the two concession companies – Ates Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd – had been inflated.

“The takeover cost by LTAT, amounting to RM555 million, was overvalued and exorbitant. The value did not follow the results of due diligence carried out by KPMG (audit company), where the maximum value (of the concessionaires) was listed as only RM251 million,” he said in a statement today.

PAC also concluded that the terms of the contract, especially related to the service fee to be paid to the concessionaires, were not in favour of, and detrimental to, the government, while the total compensation paid by the government to LTAT in 2019 was RM668.9 million.

As such, PAC recommended that the government ensure that all the terms in any concession agreement are not detrimental to them, Bernama reported.

Wong said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) needed to review and investigate the issues raised in the Governance, Procurement and Finance Investigation Committee Investigation Report and the PAC report, to see if there are individuals involved in kickback in the acquisition process of the AES by LTAT.