He said the selection list was entirely controlled by the PMO. He also clarified that the ministry’s internal screening mechanisms remained completely passive.
KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz told the High Court on Monday that during his tenure as minister, the Finance Ministry only functioned as an executor for evaluating and finalising the firms appointed to the Jana Wibawa project from a list provided by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) led at the time by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Zafrul, who was the finance minister from March 2020 until October 2022, explained that the Jana Wibawa programme was initiated during Muhyiddin’s time as prime minister to stimulate the growth of Bumiputera contractors in order for the construction industry to remain active as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The main purpose of the Jana Wibawa project is to help Bumiputera contractors, along with construction suppliers, who were deeply affected by the pandemic, in order to ensure the well-being of the economy and the construction industry.
“The procurement for the Jana Wibawa programme was via direct negotiation and pre-qualification tender,” he said.
Earlier, Zafrul, who was also once the minister for international trade and industry (now known as the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry), had testified that the list of 54 contractors from the Jana Wibawa project had come from the PMO and not through his ministry.
He said that his ministry had only been entrusted with implementing the project by giving the necessary approvals and cited KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd as one of the companies that had benefitted from it.
Zafrul also revealed in Monday’s trial that Sutracom Sdn Bhd and Nepturis Sdn Bhd are two other companies that had benefited from the project and had managed to land massive infrastructure contracts under this selective framework.
He said the selection list was entirely controlled by the PMO. He also clarified that the ministry’s internal screening mechanisms remained completely passive.
“The Ministry of Finance only functioned as an executor in terms of evaluation and finalising the company appointments after they passed the applicable terms and regulations," Zafrul testified to questions from deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.
Sutracom, Nepturis secured contracts via restricted Pre-Q tracks
Zafrul also shed light on the restricted Pre-Qualification (Pre-Q) tender system used to award major infrastructure contracts under the programme.
Under this framework, Sutracom Sdn Bhd had secured a RM605.2 million contract to construct and upgrade Phase 3 of the Pulau Indah Ring Road in Klang, Selangor, while Nepturis Sdn Bhd had landed a RM141 million contract for the Klang Utara District Police Headquarters (IPD).
The court heard that evaluations for both projects only commenced after the Treasury received specific correspondence from the PMO.
According to Zafrul, Sutracom’s proposal arrived via a PMO letter dated Mar 17, 2021, while Nepturis’ name was forwarded in a separate PMO letter dated Feb 3, 2021 — both allegedly carrying minutes from Muhyiddin’s approval of the Pre-Q track.
Zafrul made it clear that without these specific PMO communications, both companies would have remained completely locked out of the ministry’s selection pipeline, as the Pre-Q system bypassed standard open public advertisements in favour of a closed loop of vetted entities.
"Regarding the award of this project to Sutracom Sdn Bhd, if the company's name was not stated in the Prime Minister's Office letter...I would not have instructed (the Government Procurement Division) via my minutes, which aimed to direct an evaluation by the MOF Contractor Evaluation Committee," he said.
Similarly, regarding the police headquarters project, Zafrul noted, "When Nepturis Sdn Bhd did not go through the evaluation process by the Contractor Evaluation Committee at the Ministry of Finance, [under normal circumstances] the company would not have succeeded in being awarded the project by the Public Works Department (JKR).
“This was due to every appointment of a contractor under the Jana Wibawa programme being carried out via direct negotiation, where normally it must go through the committee evaluation process before participating in the pre-qualification tender at JKR, up until the issuance of the Letter of Acceptance by JKR."
Sutracom was ultimately recommended by the JKR Tender Evaluation Committee as the sole bidder to pass the technical evaluation phase, with Zafrul signing the final approval memorandum on Aug 30, 2022.
Meanwhile, Nepturis won its restricted tender out of four competing bidders, with the contract finalised at an amended estimated price of RM141 million over a 191-week schedule, receiving Zafrul's final sign-off.
Despite the closed shortlisting process for both companies, Zafrul maintained that the statutory power to legally approve procurement methods ultimately rested with his signature as the minister of finance, noting that Muhyiddin lacked the authority to unilaterally dictate direct negotiations or pre-qualification tenders.
Nepturis allegedly contributed RM1 million to Muhyiddin’s party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), on Feb 16, 2022.
Don’t know where Muhyiddin got lists, he has no power
When asked by DPP Wan Shaharuddin, Zafrul said he does not know where Muhyiddin or the PMO got the list of 54 firms.
Wan Shaharuddin: Has the accused informed you of where he got the list of 54 companies?
Tengku Zafrul: No.
Wan Shaharuddin: Has Muhyiddin informed you that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia has interests in those companies?
Tengku Zafrul: No.
Referring to Muhyiddin’s statement of defence in this trial, Zafrul, who is the 11th prosecution witness, reiterated that the then-PM had no power on matters pertaining to the Finance Ministry.
Wan Shaharuddin: Does the PM have the power to appoint the contractor companies?
Tengku Zafrul: He cannot.
Wan Shahruddin: Has the PM got the power to direct or assist any government projects?
Tengku Zafrul: No.
Wan Shaharuddin: This Jana Wibawa project is considered a stimulus project. Has the PM got the power to determine procurement via direct negotiation or pre-qualification?
Tengku Zafrul: No.
Wan Shaharuddin: Can the PM decide on which company to be determined for a government project?
Tengku Zafrul: Tak ada (None).
Wan Shaharuddin: If you look at the task of a finance minister, does the PM have the power to determine the procurement, direct negotiations, and pre-qualification?
Tengku Zafrul: No, the task lies with the finance minister.
Wan Shaharuddin: Has the PM got the power to appoint any company to implement the Jana Wibawa project?
Tengku Zafrul: No.
Muhyiddin, who is also the member of Parliament for Pagoh and president of Bersatu, is accused of four charges of abusing his official position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd and one Datuk Azman Yusoff.
He also faces three money laundering charges involving RM200 million in proceeds from unlawful activities from Bukhary Equity, which were allegedly deposited into Bersatu’s AmBank and CIMB accounts during his tenure as prime minister.
The trial continues before judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin on Tuesday.