KUALA LUMPUR (July 14): Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd has publicly reprimanded Zetrix AI Bhd (KL:ZETRIX), formerly known as MyEG Services Bhd and fined seven of its directors RM150,000 each over misleading announcements and non-compliance with a regulatory directive.
The company was found to have violated Paragraphs 9.35A(1)(a) and (b) of the Main Market Listing Requirements (Main LR) for failing to ensure its announcements dated July 7, Sept 13, and Sept 14, 2023 were factual, accurate and not misleading. It also breached Paragraph 2.23(1) by failing to comply with Bursa Malaysia's directive to clarify its July 7 statement by the stipulated Aug 16 deadline.
The reprimanded directors — including group managing director Wong Thean Soon and executive chairman Datuk Dr Norraesah Mohamad — were penalised RM100,000 each for the announcement breach, and RM50,000 each for the directive breach.
Other directors that were fined include non-independent non-executive director Datuk Mohd Jimmy Wong Abdullah and independent non-executive directors Wong Kok Chau, Datuk Seri Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff, Datuk Mohd Jeffrey Joakim and Mohaini Mohd Yusof.
“There were no reasonable justifications for the failure of the company and directors to ensure that the announcements were factual, accurate, not false and misleading and comply with the directive,” Bursa Malaysia said in a statement on Monday.
To recap, the July 7 announcement claimed that the Ministry of Finance had approved Zetrix AI’s appointment as a collection agent for government revenue and its continued role as an online service provider for the Immigration Department.
However, Bursa Malaysia said these claims were inconsistent with the actual content of a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs dated July 4, 2023.
Despite media reports highlighting concerns that the company continued charging fees for foreign worker permit renewals after its official concession expired in May 2023, Zetrix AI did not issue a timely clarification. It instead maintained the inaccurate claims in subsequent announcements in September, according to the regulator.
Bursa Malaysia noted in its statement that on Sept 12, 2023, The Edge Malaysia ran a story headlined “MyEG said to be charging fees for foreign worker permits despite contract suspension”, while New Straits Times published an article titled “MYEG illegally renewing workers permits”.
While the previous concession for immigration-related services had expired in May 2023, it was only in October that the company secured a new tender for online foreign worker permit renewals effective February 2024.
Bursa Malaysia noted that from May 23, 2023, to Jan 31, 2024, there was no approval for the company to continue collecting government revenue.
The regulator said the directors had failed to discharge their duties responsibly, even though they were aware of the discrepancies and the regulatory directive. It stressed that accurate and timely disclosures are essential for market integrity and investor confidence.