Updates @ 4:30 pm on 18-7-2018: Yous truly has been informed that KSU of MOTAC Datuk Rashidi bin Hasbullah, who had been actively campaigning for BN during the 14 GE together with Datuk Seri Khani Daud, Datuk Razip Hassan, Datuk Ammar Gapur and Datuk Musa all from TM, will be transferred to JPA pool in the very near future to accompany Tan Sri Erwan Seregar. Please read HERE.
Updates @9:30 pm on 15-7-2018: In an unprecedented move, Yg Bhg Tan Sri Dr Ali bin Hamsa, KSN, visited the Minister of Tourism and Cultures this afternoon. It would appear that the said visit was about the KSU of the ministry, Datuk Rashidi bin Hasbullah, and the top management of TM were actively involved in 14th GE in the Padang Regas Constituency, HERE.
Updates @ 9:15 pm on 12-7-2018: Yours truly has been informed that the little Napoleons in TM are going berserk on a witch hunting exercise. Instead of putting right what were wrong, the little napoleons are more interested in wanting know from whom yours truly got the information from. In another word they are more interested to intimidate the junior members of staff of TM to cover up for them. The little napoleons should realise that it is a waste of time for them to embark on such a stupid exercise. It is better for them to discard their innate appetite for direct nego contracts like the “SPEEDY GONZALES” and those given to Global Renown Ltd than to go on a witch hunt. It will be better for them to go to Bangkok for a lovely holiday!
Updates @ 10:30 pm on 11-7-2018: Datuk Seri Tam Yun Tong, the CEO of Eithoshin Shoji Co Ltd and the man behind Global Renown Ltd, is also the key officer in MCA, Japan, HERE. He is a man of multi-talents!
The top management in Tourism Malaysia (“TM”) not only has a special appetite but loves for direct-nego contracts. They normally conclude direct-nego with lightning speed and if possible with a go between party, which has now been called a ‘special purpose vehicle’ by Dato’ DR Siew Ka Wei, the Chairman of TM. The most glaring example is the ‘Speedy Gonzales’ RM99.693 million Scandalous Deal. The other direct-nego contracts involved Global Renown Ltd. Why these little napoleons have such appetite for direct-nego contracts? Yours truly believes that for the little napoleons in TM, open tender contract takes too long to seal, too troublesome and presumably time is of the essence especially before the 14th General Elections!
Hence, TM took one day to evaluate, negotiate and sealed the said digital marketing ‘Speedy Gonzales’ scandalous direct-ego contract with a 5 month old company, Geeko Tech Sdn Bhd (“Geeko”). TM sealed the said direct-nego contract on 4-4-2018 at which time Geeko had not been registered with Ministry of Finance. According to the Procurement Regulations of MOF, the registration is a mandatory requirement for a company dealing with government agencies.
Geeko was only registered with MOF on 6-4-2018. The ‘Speedy Gonzales’ scandalolus deal was sealed on 4-4-2018, 2 days before its registration with MOF. TM has no power to waive the Procurement Rules set by MOF. But the little napoleons in TM are the Authorities. That was why its DG, Datuk Seri Mirza Mohamad Taiyap, was soaring to sign the ‘Speedy Gonzales’ Agreement on 4-4-2018. For background stories read HERE, HERE, HERE.
At the material time, Dato DR Siew Ka Wei is the chairman of TM and also executive chairman of Ancom Bhd and MD of Redberry Media Group. Ms Elizabeth Ken is the Media Specialist of Redberry Media Group. She is also the CEO of Geeko. Geeko is special purpose vehicle in the ‘Speedy Gonzales’ scandalous deal.
Were The Direct-Nego Contracts Budgeted For in TM?
Most probably the Direct-Nego contracts were never been budgeted for in TM. Therefore, the deals have to be sealed quickly because of emergencies and without which tourists will stop visiting Malaysia! The question is why the direct-ego were restricted to a handful of companies like Geeko, Global Renown Ltd and one or two others.
Did The Internal Auditor of TM Alerted The Auditor-General Department About Direct-Nego Contract?
Yours truly believes that the internal auditors of TM never reported the questionable direct-ego contracts in its yearly reports. If they have done so, such practice would not have been the norm. The TM’s Internal Auditors is just a show piece to satisfy the procedures.
The Council of Eminent People Instructed TM to Terminate The ‘Speedy Gonzales’ Scandalous Contract – Was it Not Terminated?
In mid June 2018 Datuk Mirza Mohamad Taiyap, the DG of TM, was called up by the Council of Eminent Person (‘CEP’). He was questioned by CEP about the ‘Speedy Gonzales’ scandalous contract and he told CEP that there was an exit clause in the said ‘Speedy Gonzales’ scandalous RM99.693 millions contract. Datuk Mirza was instructed by the CEP to terminate the said contract. Yours truly has read the said contract and there is an exit clause that states it could only be terminated after two years. The said contract is for two years period. Yours truly believes that until this date, the said ‘Speedy Gonzales’ contract has yet to be terminated. The little napoleons in TM are so powerful that they dare to defy the CEP.
Auditor General Department Is now Auditing TM’s Accounts & MACC Is Investigating The ‘Speedy Gonzales” Scandalous Deal
A team of officers from Auditor-General Department has been in TM for more than a week now to audit its accounts. Surely, the Geeko’s “Speedy Gonzales” deal will be top of the list.
The other more glaring direct-nego contracts involved Global Renown Ltd (a Hong Kong company), Eithoshin Shoji Co Ltd (a Japanese Company) and a few other companies must also be investigated.
Global Renown Ltd, A Company based in Hong Kong
The Auditor-General Department should be auditing the numerous taxi wrapping, outdoor advertisements (in Japan and China) direct-nego contracts that have been awarded to Global Renown Ltd, a Hong Kong based company.
TM’s Advertising Campaign Report For 2017/2018
Out of the total advertising expenditures for 2017/2018 of RM160, 702, 958.58, only RM10, 515, 648.76 was spent on the existing contracts that was budgeted for, the remaining RM150, 187, 309.00 was for the un-bedgeted direct-nego contracts.
Of course, the so-called digital marketing contract undertaken by Kraken Interactive Sdn Bhd (‘Kraken’) for RM40 million in 2017 was also questionable because up to this date TM has no digital marketing website. The transactions under this contract must also be investigated to determine whether the actual sum of RM40 million was spent for digital marketing or something else. If the RM40 millions was spent for something else then the top management of TM must be surcharged for it because it was spent for others purposes outside the contract. The Auditor-General Department must not let the little napoleons to escape from their responsibilities as the custodians of public fund.
It must be noted that the executive director of Kraken is, of course, Raja Mohd Firdaus Raja Zainal, who was a former employee of TM. His name does not appear as a director in the record of SSM. He is a very close friend of the little napoleons. He is often seen going on holiday with the little napoleons in TM.
From the above TM’s Report on Advertising Campaign for 2017/2018, there are many questionable direct-nego contracts. The most glaring ones are the those that have been awarded to Global Renown Ltd. The total sum TM had committed for 2017/2018 for its’ advertising campaign was RM 160, 702, 958.58, of which a total of RM 91,693,282.90 was awarded to Global Renown Ltd. It was equivalent to more than half of the total advertising expenditure for 2017/2018.
Can an expenditure of such magnitude of RM92, 693,282.90 justify the number of tourists coming from Japan?
Why is Global Renown Ltd is so special? The little napoleons will have to explain.
Who Is this Datuk Seri Tam Yun Tong?
Rumour has it that Datuk Seri Tam Yung Tong‘s (“Datuk Seri Tam”) bother or relative is a representative of another advertising company that has been awarded with advertising contract. His name did not appear in the company record with SSM.
As in 2016 Datuk Seri Tam is a CEO director of a company in Japan known as Eitoshin Shojii Co Ltd (‘Etoshin”). His wife, Datuk Seri Ang Hui Chin is a director of Eitoshin. It was one of the advertising agencies that TM had engaged before Global Renown Ltd.
It is an open secret in TM that Datuk Seri Tam is the man behind Global Renown Ltd. He is based in Japan. He is not only an expert in all forms of advertising in Japan and China but also a professional translator from Mandarin to English/Bahasa Malaysia. He was often used as a professional translator by the then Minister of Tourism and Cultures, YB Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, when he met with Chinese officials in China. What a talented man!
Datuk Tam must have given crash courses in taxi wrapping and billboard advertising in Japan to the TM’s directors in Tokyo and Osaka, Tuan Noor Azlan.bin Abu Bakar (Tokyo) and Tuan Sollehuddin bin Ahmad (Osaka), who are now experts in this field of advertising.
It is a normal procedures in TM that all contracts connected to the respective countries have to be evaluated and recommended by the respective overseas directors. Since there are so many direct-ego contracts have been awarded to Global Renown Ltd in Japan it will not be wrong to assume that both of these ‘experts’ (Azlan & Sollehuddin) must have evaluated them thoroughly and with thump up all the time.
Tuan Noor Azlan has been in TM office Tokyo since 2009 (for more than 8 years) and Tuan Sollehuddin bin Ahmad in Tokyo and Osaka (for more than 6 years). Both are still in Japan until this day. Tuan Noor Azlan Abu Bakar was supposed to be backed to TM HQ on 1.7.2018 and Tuan Sollehuddin Ahmad was supposed to be transferred to TM Tokyo on 2.7.2018 but the status remains until now. With their taxi wrapping and billboard advertising expertise that they have acquired from Datuk Tam, yours truly will not be surprised if both will be kept there for another 10 years! Please read HERE.
The Auditor-General Department and MACC must do an in-dept investigations why Global Renown Ltd, Eithoshin Shoji Co Ltd (prior to 2017), a foreign company, had been awarded with numerous direct-ego contracts worth RM 91,693,282.90, more than half of TM’s advertising budget for 2017/2018.
Stay Tuned