At a press conference in Parliament, Wong said when the PAC presented its report on the AES on Nov 23 last year, its first recommendation was that a “Top Secret” report on the matter by the committee on governance, procurement and finance investigation (JKSTUPKK), a body under the PMD, be declassified.

However, he said the PMD failed to declassify the report when attending proceedings on the transport ministry’s follow-up action on March 23. He added that while the JKSTUPKK report was only declassified on July 8, information such as names of companies, their shareholders, and ministers involved in the AES project was redacted.

“This is ridiculous as the names of the companies involved, Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd and ATES Sdn Bhd, have become public knowledge and have been reported by the press,” he added.

“This proves that the government, especially the prime minister’s department, does not respect the institution of Parliament and the PAC.

“The act of redacting parts of the report that have nothing to do with national security or sensitive policies is clearly childish and demeaning to Parliament,” Wong said, adding that shareholders’ information was publicly available on the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s (SSM) website.

The report, attached together with the PAC’s report on follow-up action by the transport ministry regarding the AES, was presented in Parliament today.

According to the road transport department (JPJ), the AES records traffic offences using sensors installed on the road and an imaging system that captures photo and video images of traffic violations.

Last November, Wong described the government’s 2014 directive for Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) to take over two concession companies for the AES project as an indirect bailout by the government.

In a statement on PAC’s proceedings, which started on Nov 16, 2020, he said that among the committee’s other conclusions was that it was highly inappropriate to outsource the AES project, stressing that it should have been solely conducted by the JPJ.

Wong also said the takeover cost for the two concession companies – ATES and Beta Tegap – had been inflated, calling on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate whether individuals received kickbacks in the acquisition process.

“The takeover cost by LTAT, amounting to RM555 million, was overvalued and exorbitant,” the Ipoh Timor MP said in a statement.

“The value did not follow the results of due diligence carried out by (auditors) KPMG, where the maximum value (of the concessionaires) was listed as only RM251 million.”