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Anti-corruption watchdog demands action over govt-Bestinet deal

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C4 questions decision to extend company’s contract to run the FWCMS despite there being no contract to begin with.

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The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism said Bestinet has long been mired in controversy. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:
The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) has called on the government to take action following the Public Accounts Committee’s report that the migrant labour recruitment system had been operating for six years without a formalised contract.

C4 noted that although the letter of acceptance for the foreign workers’ centralised management system (FWCMS) had been issued on Jan 12, 2018, the contract between the government and service provider Bestinet remained unsigned as of March 13 this year.

“Bestinet has long been besieged with controversy. It was raided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in July 2022 for alleged corruption and abuse of power involving the selection of 25 Bangladeshi agencies for migrant worker recruitment,” it said in a statement, adding that questions were also raised about its board membership when it first made a bid for the FWCMS contract in 2015.

“On June 24, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced that the government had decided to extend Bestinet’s contract to run the FWCMS for another three years, despite there being no contract to begin with.

“How did this decision by the government even come to pass?”

C4 said the continued reliance on Bestinet reflected poorly on the government.

It pointed to a mutual termination clause, which penalises either party heavily for unilaterally bringing the deal to an end.

“Why the government would place itself in such a delicate situation defies logic. It cannot serve as a substitute for all the outstanding issues that need to be addressed.

“It falls upon the home minister to inform the public what steps will be taken to address the problem,” it said.

C4 said the original decision-makers should be brought to book for their role in the scandal.

It also called into question the legal status of immigration, as a consequence of the use of this “botched system”.

“Inevitably, it is the foreign worker who is exposed to the harms and precarity of the situation, despite intending to find legal means of work in Malaysia, while the individuals ultimately responsible for the illegalities are never truly held accountable.

“C4 calls upon the government to investigate who is responsible and hold them accountable.”

It added that the auditor-general’s office must audit all entities receiving government funding and the government must introduce reforms to guarantee oversight.

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