KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): MyEG Services Bhd said it expects to complete the system enhancement for its immigration-related services within one month.
The enhancement is aimed at integrating the group's existing system with a new system from the Immigration Department, with the total cost expected to be less than RM5 million, the e-government service provider said in a filing on Friday, in response to Bursa Malaysia's request for additional information on the matter.
On Tuesday, MyEG announced that it had received a two-year extension of its immigration-related services contract, subject to the completion of the system enhancement before the group can resume accepting applications for the services.
Queried on the timeline to complete the system enhancement, MyEG said: "The timeline given by the Ministry [of Home Affairs] is three months, but the company estimates that the system enhancement will be completed within a month from the date of the letter of acceptance (LOA)."
The LOA was dated Oct 16.
"The immigration related services will commence immediately upon completion of the system enhancement," the group added.
MyEG, however, said it is unable to specify the expected date of signing of the agreement to formalise the two-year extension, "but based on past precedents, it may take at least 12 months to sign the agreement".
The group also said that in the event the system enhancement is not completed, the matter will need to be reassessed between MyEG and the Immigration Department, potentially delaying the commencement of the extension. Nevertheless, MyEG views this risk as minimal, "because the system enhancement is straightforward".
Apart from the requirement to complete the system enhancement, MyEG said the Home Ministry had imposed two additional specific conditions in the LOA. These conditions involve furnishing a performance bond of RM457,920 within 30 days from the date of acknowledgement of the LOA, and implementing a programme under "Professional Training And Education For Growing Entrepreneurs (PROTÉGÉ)" to hire seven applicants under the programme at no cost to the government.
MyEG also confirmed that the Ministry of Finance had approved the extension before the Home Ministry issued the LOA.
"The extension is subject to renewal upon expiry after two years," the group added.
MyEG's three-year concession for immigration-related services was initially set to end on May 22, following an extension from May 2020. In July, MyEG received a notification letter dated July 4 from the Home Ministry confirming that the Finance Ministry had agreed to an extension of the concession.
Last month, the group mentioned that it was still finalising the terms of an immigration-related services concession with Putrajaya after announcing that it had stopped accepting applications from customers on its portal.
Kota Melaka Member of Parliament Khoo Poay Tiong had previously complained that MyEG was illegally collecting fees for its foreign worker permit renewal services, but the group denied that it was misrepresenting the immigration services offered via its online platform.
Shares in MyEG closed half a sen or 0.63% lower at 79 sen on Friday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM5.9 billion.