The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) said one way to “institutionalise transparency” is by getting the states to legislate government procurement.

IDEAS CEO Tricia Yeoh said while it welcomed the explanation by the Selangor government on the decision to appoint the start-up linked to a minister’s husband for a proof of concept (POC) of a new demand responsive transit (DRT) service in the state, the clarification came after “probing questions” were asked.

These disclosures should be institutionalised to allow for greater openness and public accountability, Yeoh said in a statement.

“Currently, there is no specific legislation on public procurement processes in Malaysia, with government procurement processes largely prescribed by a series of circulars and regulations which translate to instructions from the finance ministry.

“But this incident emphasises the importance of a government procurement Act, which would provide rules for various government procurement methods to be competitive and transparent, and signal a strengthened commitment to fiscal responsibility,” she said.

Various parties have highlighted the possibility of preferential treatment and conflict of interest in the selection of Asia Mobiliti, one of two firms to run a nine-month POC. The other company is Badanbas Coach Sdn Bhd.

Asia Mobiliti’s CEO is M Ramachandran, the husband of youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh.

Yeoh also called for state governments to apply high standards in procurement transparency, such as disclosing relevant information at every stage of the procurement process by publishing procurement plans and details of the winning bids, among others.

She said that currently, only six states publish tender results on a centralised portal: Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan.

“The portals, unfortunately, only display information on the results of tender and quotation exercise, not the result from other procurement methods such as the request for proposal (RFP),” she said.