Questions arose on the possibility of preferential treatment following revelations that Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd (Asia Mobiliti) was one of two companies the state government had given the project to without going through an open tender. The company’s CEO, Ramachandran Muniandy, is Yeoh’s husband.

When asked whether MACC would probe the deal, Azam said it was not an offence for Asia Mobiliti to be awarded a contract by the Selangor government.

“According to the law, there is no wrongdoing if a person receives a contract or any type of benefit from an agency or entity not related to them,” he told reporters at an event here.

“Her (Yeoh’s) husband got a contract from the Selangor government and she (Yeoh) is the youth and sports minister. There’s no link (between the ministry and the Selangor government).

“The contract was given by a different entity which has nothing to do with Yeoh. I don’t see any wrongdoing with the awarding of the contract. If the ministry awarded her husband’s company a contract, then that’s a different story.”

Earlier today, Asia Mobiliti defended its involvement in Selangor’s new demand-responsive transit service, saying only two companies in the country are qualified to provide the service it gives.

In a statement, Asia Mobiliti said an open tender in the appointment process for the Selangor Mobility programme, a “highly specialised new service”, would have created a monopoly in the state.

“This would have stifled competitiveness and robbed the state of the opportunity to pilot the service in a real-world setting and assess the service providers’ performance over a reasonable period of time,” it said.

Asia Mobiliti was selected alongside Badanbas Coach for the DRT service to provide first- and last-mile public transport services within the state.