The Irony of Prolintas Bribery Scandal

THE great irony of the Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) bribery scandal is that the organisation was hailed as a pioneer in its efforts to work closely with Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) to stamp out illicit dealings.

In September 2023, the highway concessionaire was lauded for the publication of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Core Function Implementation Procedures Guidebook. This was designed specifically for the guidance of the integrity and governance unit of government investment companies (GIC).

The launch of the book organised by Prolintas was officiated by the MACC chief commissioner on Integrity Day 2023. As reported by the New Straits Times, the initiative is symbolic of the on-going joint venture mission between Prolintas and the MACC to promote transparency, integrity and effective governance within the scope of GIC.

Fast forward several months, news of Prolintas CEO and associated personnel being detained by the MACC have become front page material. This is for alleged bribes reportedly given as a “reward” for the awarding of contracts for two expressways in the Klang Valley with one project valued at over RM1 bil and the other at over RM650 mil.

To put these alleged wrongdoings into context, they were committed with a highly-touted ISO certified anti-bribery management system in place at Prolintas. The highway concessionaire crowed this on its website:

Prolintas Group of companies has successfully maintained its certification of ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) with Zero Non-Conformance Report (NFC) following a rigorous assessment in 2023.

The recent recertification is valid from 2023 to 2026, further solidifying Prolintas’ commitment to maintaining high standards of integrity and corporate governance through this period.

The comprehensive anti-bribery evaluation conducted by SIRIM QAS International underscores PROLINTAS’ dedication to integrity and commitment to combating corruption in all aspects of our business interactions and daily operations with stakeholders.

We continue to implement ongoing anti-corruption efforts and robust control measures to identify and prevent potential instances of bribery misconduct.

The above statement was updated recently on its website.

It seems farcical that such “rigorous” application of ISO-certified measures failed to detect the alleged abuses and seemingly systemic corruption. Or did the accused use their close working relationship with MACC to their benefit? By publishing the guidebook, they are privy to “insider knowledge” or at least on the inner workings of the MACC. Whatever the case maybe, this latest scandal will surely undermine the MACC and ISO standings in the eyes of the public. The previous measures just smack of lip-service if these latest allegations of corruption are true.

Reference:

The irony of Prolintas bribery scandal: company was hailed as “pioneer” in graft fight 9 months earlier, R. Bala, Focus Malaysia, 27 June 2024