By Faisal Asyraf | Free Malaysia Today
Metrasys Sdn Bhd director Lian Tian Chuan admitted in the High Court that he used his other firm, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, which was structured as a wholly Bumiputera-owned firm, as a vehicle to secure government projects allocated to Bumiputera contractors.
Lian, 54, testified in former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s corruption trial that he and his wife were shareholders of Metrasys, while he injected capital into Nepturis, which was managed by his partners, Rizman Akum Khan and Aliza Malek.
During cross-examination by Muhyiddin’s counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad, Lian agreed that Metrasys, being a non-Bumiputera company, could not apply for government projects meant for Bumiputera companies.
Amer: Being a 100% non-Bumiputera company, Metrasys could not apply for Bumiputera projects from the government?
Lian: That’s correct.
Amer: Nepturis was then used as a vehicle for you to try to obtain projects that were specifically allocated for Bumiputera companies?
Lian: I agree.
He admitted that his status as a beneficial shareholder in Nepturis was not disclosed to the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and further agreed with Amer’s assertion that the government would not have known he had any role in Nepturis.
Amer: So you are like a ghost behind the scenes who controls Nepturis?
Lian: I agree.
During re-examination, deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin asked Lian why Metrasys had never applied for government projects, to which Lian cited the limited opportunities available to non-Bumiputera companies.
“We never tried because the projects for non-Bumiputeras were very limited, but there were plenty of opportunities for Bumiputeras,” he said, adding that he had no intention of deceiving the finance ministry by using Nepturis.
Asked why he did not turn Metrasys into a Bumiputera company and put Rizman and Aliza down as its shareholders, Lian said his intention was to retain ownership of Metrasys for himself and his wife.
Lian had testified that in December 2020, he sought help from former Segambut Bersatu deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad to secure a contract under Jana Wibawa, a government initiative introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to assist Bumiputera contractors.
Adam later allegedly informed him of a Jana Wibawa project to build the Klang Utara police headquarters and instructed him to prepare a letter of interest addressed to Muhyiddin to support Nepturis’s pre-qualification tender application.
On Jan 12, 2022, Nepturis was awarded the RM141 million contract to build the Klang Utara police headquarters. A month later, Lian admitted to donating RM1 million to Bersatu.
Muhyiddin, 79, faces seven charges linked to the Jana Wibawa programme. He is charged with four counts of abusing his position to solicit RM225.3 million in bribes for the party from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, Azman Yusoff and KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd.
He also faces three money laundering charges involving RM200 million allegedly received from Bukhary Equity and deposited into Bersatu’s accounts with AmBank and CIMB Bank.
The trial before Justice Noor Ruwena Nurdin continues tomorrow.
