KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 27): The government is pursuing legal action, including a civil suit, against Zetrix AI Bhd (KL:ZETRIX) over its failure to remit RM314 million in revenue collected on behalf of the Road Transport Department (JPJ).
Winding up the Budget 2027 debate in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the government considers any delay in remitting the funds a serious breach of contract.
Revenue collected on the government's behalf must not be used as part of a company's operating funds, he said.
Zetrix came under scrutiny earlier this month after it was revealed that the company had failed to remit JPJ collections from May to September this year.
Formerly known as MyEG Services Bhd, Zetrix has provided online processing services for JPJ transactions, including road tax and driving licence renewals, since 2000. Its latest three-year contract began in May 2023.
Loke said JPJ had taken follow-up action over five months, from May 19 to Oct 4, including issuing 35 reminder notices, holding four engagement sessions and conducting special discussions with the companies to demand payment.
He said MyEG had submitted a cheque from RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK) dated Sept 30 for RM231 million to settle outstanding government revenue collections up to Aug 17. However, the cheque could not be cashed.
Following the failure to transfer the collections, JPJ issued a letter on Oct 2 terminating the appointments of MyEG and Zetrix as its revenue collection agents, effective Oct 5. JPJ also lodged a police report on Oct 7.
Loke said electronic government revenue collections made through appointed agents must be transferred to the government's account within one working day of the transaction, or T+1, before 4pm.
Agents that miss the deadline are subject to daily late-transfer penalties based on the rates specified in their agreements, in line with Ministry of Finance instructions.
Full settlement of all outstanding amounts, including late-transfer penalties, is a prerequisite for any extension or further operational approval, he said.
To reduce the risk of future revenue leakages, Loke said JPJ is upgrading its MySIKAP portal and MyJPJ super app to reduce reliance on third-party agents.
The ministry is also discussing a proposed mechanism with the Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General's Department to channel government revenue directly into government accounts without passing through third-party accounts.
Other proposed measures include strengthening the government revenue management system to automatically halt transactions if an agent fails to transfer collections within 10 days, and requiring collection agents to provide guarantees from their parent companies.
For more Parliament stories, click here.