KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): Datasonic Group Bhd currently has nine contracts with the Home Ministry worth a total of RM1.1 billion, with only two of these contracts having gone through the process of an open tender, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said five of the contracts totalling RM990.01 million were between Datasonic's wholly-owned subsidiary Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd (DTSB) and the Immigration Department, and the other four worth RM113.44 million were between DTSB and the National Registration Department.

“Seven of the nine contracts were secured through direct negotiation between 2016 and 2022, while the remaining two contracts were through open tender,” Saifuddin said in a written parliamentary reply on Wednesday (March 29) to Lim Guan Eng [PH-Bagan].

Lim wanted to know the status of the contracts awarded to Datasonic, how many of these contracts involved family members of a former top government leader, and whether the contracts will proceed or be retendered.

“All these contracts are still in force, and are proceeding in accordance with the implementation schedule as stated in the agreement documents,” the minister said.

Saifuddin said DTSB has the capability and capacity to undertake security priniting because it possesses a factory, finance ministry certificate, as well as a security document printing certificate issued by the office of the chief government security officer.

The minister did not respond to Lim's query on the alleged involvement of family members of a former top government leader, except to say that the ministry cannot control the ownership of Datasonic’s shares.

Datasonic's share price closed unchanged at 42.5 sen on Wednesday (March 29), valuing the group at RM1.26 billion. The counter has been trending downwards since it closed at 49.5 sen on Feb 3.

For more Parliament stories, click here.