Tag: Datuk Mirza

Is Tourism Malaysia Everyone’s “ATM”?

On By weechookeongIn wee choo keong37 Comments
Datuk Musa Bin Yusof, the newly appointed DG of Tourism Malaysia. He is a genius by all counts.

Updates at 11 am on 29-01-2019:  The Minister of MOTAC and Datuk Musa Bin Yusof, the newly appointed DG of TM will be launching a Joint Incentive Tourism Development Programs in KLIA at 2 pm today (29-1-2019). The press should ask Datuk Musa about his involvement in the Speedy Gonzales deal and whether the deal was planned well before the inception of Geeko Tech Sdn Bhd on 6-11-2017.  Please see below for the publicity generated by the misleading “Promosi Bersama TM/Tencent/Geeko” scheme devised by Datuk Musa Yusof in HERE. 

 

It is now clear that the shady “Speedy Gonzales” RM99.693 million deal involving Tourism Malaysia (TM) and an infant IT company, Geeko Tech Sdn Bhd (Geeko), was planned months ahead.

The new revelations which are part of yours truly’s continuing probe into the ambiguous “Speedy Gonzales” deal show an amateurish rip-off of TM funds.

Fundamentals in awarding contracts and making payments were neglected, suggesting that TM was an easy agency to milk, or rather an automated teller machine (ATM).

The Arrest & Remand of Dato’ Siew Ka Wei & Ms Elizabeth Ken

Both Dato’ Siew Ka Wei, former TM chairman and current chairman of Ancom Bhd, MD of Nylex Bhd and Ms Elizabeth Ken were in orange “uniform”.

The “Speedy Gonzales” Geeko deal exploded when Dato’ Siew Ka Wei and the CEO of Geeko, Ms Elizabeth Ken Tzu Ying were arrested and remanded for four days by MACC on 10 January, 2019.

The Little Napoloens In TM

The little napoleons in the top management of TM have had inkling of the dubious “Speedy Gonzales” RM99.693 million deal as early as in November 2017 when Geeko was incorporated.

Datuk Musa Bin Yusof , the then Director of Bahagian Promosi Antarabangsa (Asia/Afrika), was a known promoter of digital platform/Geeko deal in TM.  Datuk Musa knew or ought to have known that in 2016/2017 TM had already paid RM40 million to Kraken Interactive Sdn Bhd (Kraken), which was represented by Raja Firdaus and Mr Ron Chow the director of Kraken, to provide TM with digital marketing platform. Why was Datuk Musa so active in promoting another digital platform through Geeko in 2017/ 2018?

In January 2018,  a ‘foolproof’ scheme was devised to avoid seeking MAMPU’s approval to appoint Geeko to prepare a report /Kajian for TM to appoint Geeko!

The Relationship Between Datuk Musa & Geeko

Of course, Datuk Musa didn’t put in his “proposal” of his precarious position of conflict of interest:   that he was on the TM top management; and president of KOPEMA (Koperasi Kakitanggan MOTAC).

KOPEMA is a shareholder of Geeko. What a brilliant “proposal” by Datuk Musa!  From the said “proposal” below you will no doubt conclude that Datuk Musa is a genius!

No wonder he was promoted to be the DG of TM in a ‘Speedy Gonzales’ fashion.

The little napoleons in TM love quickies.

The evidence below clearly shows that Datuk Musa not only played an active part to promote the shady “Speedy Gonzales” but was also instrumental in securing the appointment of Geeko as the “go-between company” on the pretext of providing the digital platform for TM.

For the benefit of new readers, let yours truly reproduced some of the glaring facts.

Background

Pic of Dato’ Siew Ka Wei when he was released by MACC. He was the chairman of TM. He is the current chairman of Ancom Bhd and MD of Nylex Bhd.

 Dato’ Siew Ka Wei

At the material time, Dato’ Siew Ka Wei was the high- flying chairman of TM. Currently he is the chairman of Ancom Bhd, MD for Nylex Bhd and CEO of Redberry Media Group (Redberry).  The defunct print and online Malay Mail are part of his ‘empire’.

He is also a well-known corporate genius but not after May 9, 2018 though. He has many outfits like Titanium Compass Sdn Bhd (exclusive advertising contract with MRT),  Meru Utama Sdn Bhd (exclusive advertising contract in Malaysia airports), Ancom Chemical Sdn Bhd (exclusive Methanol contract from Petronas), Puncak Berlian Sdn Bhd and many others.

Geeko, Titanium Compass Sdn Bhd and Berlin Puncak Sdn Bhd share the same registered office address and the same company secretary, Mr Stephen Geh Sim Whye. What a co-incidence?? Please read HERE.

Ms Elizabeth Ken, the media specialist of Redberry Media Group. She is also the CEO & shareholder of Geeko.

Ms Elizabeth Ken

Elizabeth Ken is one of the shareholders and CEO of Geeko. She is also the media specialist of Redberry whose CEO is, of course, Dato’ Siew Ka Wei.

Geeko Tech Sdn Bhd (Geeko)

On 6 November 2017, Geeko was incorporated. Elizabeth Ken and her company EN Vouge Sdn Bhd and KOPEMA (Kakitangan Koperasi MOTAC) are the shareholders. At that material time, Datuk Musa Yusof, was president of KOPEMA and director of Bahagian Pomosi Antarabangsa (Asia/Afrika). Datuk Ammar A Gapar is one of the director in TM and the deputy president of KOPEMA.

The little napoleons in TM have been playing deaf and dumb over the ‘Speedy Gonzales” Geeko deal. Then we witnessed the sudden crowning of ‘Musa the Great’ as the Director General (DG) of TM.  It was a “Speedy Gonzales” promotion.

When yours truly first wrote about the shady “Speedy Gonzales” Geeko deal, Dato’ Siew Ka Wei defended Geeko deal to the hilt. The little napoleons in TM have gone into silent mode since then.

The Conflict of Interest

Clear case of Conflict of interest, read HERE & HERE.

The “PLAN”

On 19 January, 2018, about 73 days after the incorporation of Geeko, Datuk Musa and other little napoleons hatched a scheme called “PROMOSI BERSAMA TOURISM MALAYSAI DAN TENCENT/GEEKO TECH BAGI PROMOSI PASARAN DIGITAL (SMART TOURISM)” (“Promosi Bersama Geeko”) that  cost TM a whooping RM1,167,900.00 for the so-called report/Kajian.

If TM were to directly appoint Geeko to prepare a report/Kajian for an IT Project it would have to submit the plan/proposal for approval to MAMPU. That would be time consuming and may not get approval.

Datuk Musa and the other little napoleons in TM must have mooted the scandalous Geeko/Digital Platform many weeks if not months before 19 January, 2018.

From the said proposal for “Promosi Bersama”, it will not be too far fetched to suggest that Datuk Musa and gang must have planned the scandalous Geeko deal well before the incorporation of GEEKO on 6 November, 2017.

The Bomb Shell & so-called Proposal For “Promosi Bersama TM dan Geeko/Tencent”

Please see the said questionable proposal “Promosi Bersama” by Datuk Miusa Bin Yusof below.

Page 1 “Minit Kelulusan” from Datuk Musa for his “Proposal Bersama” To Be Approved by Datuk Mirza, the then DG.

 

Page 2 of the “Minit Kelulusan“
Page 3 of “Minit Kelulusan“
Page 4 of “Minit Kelulusan” was signed by Datuk Musa Bin Yusof, now the DG of TM.

 

In a nutshell it was just a simple proposal for a report/Kajian to be prepared by Geeko to appoint itself to be a “special purpose vehicle” for someone. What a brilliant proposal!

The Glaring Conflicts of Interest

Firstly, the important glaring conflict of interest was that Datuk Musa did not declare in the said proposal:

The possible conflict of interest on Musa’s part as the president of KOPEMA because KOPEMA is a shareholder of Geeko. He is also the director of Bahagian Antarabangsa (Afrika/China).  At that material time, it seemed Datuk Mirza, who was previously charged twice for corruption, very innocently approved the said  “Promosi Bersama” for RM1,167, 900.00.

The said astronomical sum was paid for producing a report/KAJIAN. Not bad for a five-month old company to be awarded and paid RM1,167,900.00 by a government agency for a simple job.

Secondly, on 19.1.2017 the appointment of Geeko was not only unprecedented but violated the regulations of Ministry of Finance (MOF) because Geeko was not registered with MOF.

Geeko was only registered with MOF on 6-4-2018. However, the “Speedy Gonzales” contract was signed on 4-4-2018, two days before the said registration. This is evident of the little napoleons in TM who did not give a damn about MOF rules. TM is just a cash cow for some.

Thirdly, there was no real promotional activities for the so-called “Promosi Bersama TM dan Tencent/Geeko”.

The Glaring Points In The Said “Promosi Bersama”

Page 2 of the said “Promosi Bersama”.

Para 2.2        Objektif Pelaksanaan Smart Tourism adalah:

Para 2.2.2     Membekalan laporan data industry pelancongan bagi membantu dalam process  decision making.

 

Page 3 of the said “Promosi Bersama”

Para 3.1        Table

No. 5 in the table:  Final Summary Reports

Deliverable: Project Summary report

 

Page 4 of the said “Promosi Bersama”

Para 4.           JUSTIFIKASI BAHAGIAN (Glaring section)

4.1      Projek ini adalah wajar  dilakukan bagi membantu dalam pembangunan SMART Tourism. Khidmat dari Syarikat Tencent Technology yang digunakan oleh kajian ini juga adalah bersesuaian memandangkan syarikat ini adalah syarikat gergasi di China yang mempunyai pengalaman yang meluas dalam bidang teknologi.

The glaring questions are: 

Why didn’t TM go direct to Tencent Technology?

Why TM had to appoint a five-month old company to do the “KAJIAN” to use Tencent Technology?

Why was there a need for a “KAJIAN” from a five-month old company to appoint a big company like Tencent Technology, which is equivalent to Google or Yahoo?

Isn’t it obvious that Geeko was a go-between for this “Speedy Gonzales” deal? (On 1-6-2018 Dato’ Siew Ka Wei had declared that Geeko is a “special purpose vehicle” for Tencent, which he subsequently did an about turn 7 days later.)

 

Para 5.     IMPLIKASI KEWANGAN

Jumlah kos anggaran adalah sebanyak RM1,167,900.00 menggunakan peruntukan sedia ada mengurus 2018 Bahagian Pegiklanan, Tourism Malaysia.

At the material time TM was (and is still) operating under deficit of more than RM130 million.

If this is the case, where is the so-called “PERUNTUKAN”?

Was the so-called “PERUNTUKKAN” a means to siphon off RM1,176,900.00 from TM?

The Salient Facts:

Datuk Mirza (ex-DG of TM) approved the said above proposal  “Promosi Bersma” by Datuk Musa and Puan Azleen Mat Zip, TM Director of Finance, paid RM1,167,900.00 to Geeko Tech Sdn Bhd.  Puan Azleen had a copy of the so-called Report/”KAJIAN” prepared by Geeko to appoint Geeko/Tencent.

Sources in TM also confirmed that there was no agreement for the so-called “PROMOSI BERSAMA GEEKO/TENCENT” to support the payment of RM1,167,900.00.  The Head of Internal Audit, Puan Salinda binti Sany, picked up this glaring transaction during the audit exercise and questioned it. However, there was no further action. The issue just died down.  WHY?

Puan Salinda did prepare an audit report on this matter. Where is the audit report now?

Now we know why Musa, the newly appointed DG of TM, was and is a genius in “planning” and more importantly drawing up the “fool proof” proposal.

There must be an in-depth investigation into this so-called  proposal for “Promosi Bersama” and the “Kajian”, which cost TM RM1,167,900.00, by MACC.

KSN should examine what Datuk Musa had done or his role in the “Speedy Gonzales” deal when his DG post is up for confirmation.

Next: Another MOTAC/TM bombshell.

Please Stay Tuned.

 

 

 

Minister of Tourism & Cultures : Why Maintaining Direct Nego Contracts?

On By weechookeongIn wee choo keong1 Comment
The new Minister of Tourism & Cultures, YB Datuk Mohammadin bin Ketapi (4th left)  have been surrounded by the smooth operators and/or BN staunched supporters, Datuk Tam Yun Tong, the man behind Global Renown Ltd (3rd from right). Extreme right: Datuk Rashidi Hasbullah, the KSU of MOTAC.

Malaysians applaud The water, land and natural resources Minister, Dr A Xavier Jayakumar for cancelling several projects awarded without open tenders by BN government, HERE.

It is an opened secret that there were many projects or contracts being awarded by way of direct negotiation a few months before May 9th,  the 14th GE.

THE ‘SPEEDY GONZALES’ RM99.6 MILLION GEEKO CONTRACT

One glaring example of this category of project was the ‘Speedy Gonzales’ RM99.693 million direct negotiation contract between Tourism Malaysia (TM) and Geeko Tech Sdn Bhd (Geeko), HERE.

Left: Tan Sri Mohamed Al Amin, who is involved in S5 Systems Sdn Bhd, a visa processing company.  Right: Dato Dr Siew Ka Wei. These are the two very powerful corporate figures in Malaysia.

To digress a little, out of the 45 charges faced by YB Dato ‘ Seri Zahid Hamid, three of which were associated with Profound Radiance Sdn Bhd, which is one of the visa processing companies, HERE.

Sometime in May 2018 this scandalous ‘Speedy Gonzales’ contract was exposed.  On 1-6-2018 Dato Dr Siew Ka Wei (Siew), the then Chairman of TM had said amongst other things in a press statement that:

“Geeko Tech was the local partner chosen by Tencent to implement the project here.  The principal officers are known to Tencent Group.  The choice of Geeko as a Special Purpose Vehicle for the project was made by Tencent.”

Please read HERE.

Tencent Group referred to by Siew is Tencent Holdings Ltd.  It is a multinational conglomerate founded in 1998.  It is one of the world largest technology companies, HERE.

Eight days later, on 8-6-2018 Siew issued another press statement to change his position from “The choice of Geeko as Special Purpose Vehicle for the project was made by Tencent” to “Geeko is not the special purpose vehicle chosen by Tencent…” .

Why was there a need for the two conflicting statements from Siew on the “Special Purpose Vehicle”?

It was very strange that TM chose not to enter into a contract directly with Tencent Holdings.  It was equally strange that Tencent Holdings would prefer to enter into a contract with a ‘Special Purpose vehicle’, which is a 5 month old company!

BACKGROUND OF GEEKO

Ms Elizabeth Ken, the CEO of Geeko.

Geeko was incorporated in November 2017.  Its CEO is none other than Ms Elizabeth Ken, who was by chance the media specialist of Redberry Media Group (Redberry).  Redberry is an outfit of Dato’ Dr Siew Ka Wei. The Malay Mail is part of Redberry.  Of course, these glaring facts were by coincidence!

SPEEDY GONZALES DIRECT NEGOTIATION CONTRACT WAS PREPARED AND INKED IN ONE DAY

Just for the record Geeko was incorporated in November 2017. The said scandalous direct negotiation contract was evaluated, negotiated and prepared and signed within one day on 4-4-2018, which was about one month before 14thGE. On 4-4-2018. Geeko was not registered with Ministry of Finance (MOF). It is against the MOF Procurement Rules for any government departments or agencies to deal with a company that was not registered with MOF. The little napoleons in TM were the law to themselves and fear nobody including the Minister of Tourism & Cultures (MOTAC) and/or MACC.

MANY DIRECT NEGOTIATION CONTRACTS IN TM

In August 2018 Datuk Seri Mirza, the outgoing DG, who had signed the speedy Gonzales contract was called up by Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) and was told to terminate it.  Today it would appear that the little napoleons in TM is in no mood to terminate it.

Extreme Right:  Datuk Tam Yun Tong is said to be an expert in advertising especially for taxi wrapping and billboard advertising in China and Japan. He is the man behind Global Renown Ltd. Global Renown Ltd had been awarded with many direct-nego contracts in Japan and China worth more than RM90 million.  2nd right: Ex-Minister of Tourism & Cultures, YB Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

There were many ongoing direct negotiation contracts between TM and Global Renown Ltd, which is an outfit of the famous Datuk Tam Yun Tong, who is the MCA overseas representative in Japan.

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-budgeted direct-nego contracts. Out of the said RM150,187,309.00,  RM91,693.282.90 worth of contracts were awarded to Global Reknown Ltd, HERE.

REPORT LODGED WITH MACC

In June 2018 a report had been lodged on the said ‘Speedy Gonzales’ Geeko contract with MACC. MACC had raided the headquarters of TM and seized documents. Five months have elapsed this glaring contract, which was negotiated and signed within one day, is still awaiting for actions by MACC.

MINISTER OF MOTAC

As of now, it is business as usual in MOTAC and TM. It seems that all the direct negotiation contracts have not been terminated. Up to this date, there was no announcement made on the status of these contracts. The Minister of MOTAC should follow the footsteps of Minister YB Dr A Xavier Jayakumar by terminating these direct negotiation contracts.

“Masa Sekarang Menunggu Mu” – Part – 2 (Tourism Malaysia)

On By weechookeongIn wee choo keong8 Comments

Updates:  Please read the warnings “Pegawai Kerajaan era Najib tahu salah mereka, sendiri buat sendiri tanggunglah” given by Yg Bhg Datuk A  Kadir Jasin.

Tourism Malaysia (TM) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture which has been operating on deficit until this day. Why is the Auditor-General not any taking actions? May be certain high ranking officers are experts in creative accountings.   At the material time its deficit was more than RM250 millions! Continue reading ““Masa Sekarang Menunggu Mu” – Part – 2 (Tourism Malaysia)” →