Agreement with Spanco still in force, says Finance Ministry

KUALA LUMPUR: The agreement with Spanco - the company handling the procurement and management of the government’s fleet of vehicles - is still in force, says the Finance Ministry.

In a parliamentary written reply dated March 12, the Finance Ministry said the government always ensures that Spanco's procurement contract for supplying, maintaining, and managing the fleet of government vehicles is carried out according to requirements, as well as complies with procurement procedures and undergoes all necessary due diligence.

"As of now, the contract is still in force based on the terms agreed upon between the government and Spanco," said the ministry in reply to a question from Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong).

Lim had asked the Finance Ministry whether the contract with Spanco was not beneficial to the country and if termination was warranted in the event that it was detrimental.

Spanco had held the concession to supply and maintain government vehicles since 1993.

When the contract ended in 2019, an open tender was launched, and a letter of intent (LOI) was awarded to a consortium formed by Berjaya Group and Naza Sdn Bhd.

However, the LOI was terminated in 2020, and the tender was awarded to Spanco again.

Spanco is currently being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as to why it was given the job of managing the government’s vehicles.

In January, MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki said a former finance minister, a Tan Sri businessman and key government officials were among a long list of individuals to be called in the probe into alleged graft involving the procurement and management of the government's fleet of vehicles worth RM4.5bil.