KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shaari today said his state government is willing and ready to disclose the full details on why it chose Asia Mobiliti Sdn Bhd and Badanbas Coach Sdn Bhd for its pilot transit bus project.

He said the pilot project was about using a new technology called Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) and that there were only two companies that had been given the clearance to operate it by the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD), Free Malaysia Today reported this afternoon.

"We are willing to (do that). We have no problem doing so as we have freedom of information,” he was quoted by the news portal, when asked about whether he would disclose the information.

The Selangor government passed the Freedom of Information (State of Selangor) Enactment in 2011 in a bid to improve its transparency.

"APAD said only two companies had been given permission for the proof of concept (POC), so the state government invited both of them.

"Even if we were to conduct an open tender, only two companies at that time had permission to do the POC ... so questions about whether there should have been an open tender or not are not valid,” Amirudin added.

Asia Mobiliti is the only company of the two that Selangor picked for the pilot project that has been mired in controversy after attention was called to one of its co-founders who is married to Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.

Yeoh and the Pakatan Harapan government found themselves accused of nepotism, though preliminary investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission found no concrete link between the politicians and the company.

Several officials also pointed out that the DRT project has not been finalised by the Selangor menteri besar.

DRT is a relatively new technology that public transport advocates have touted to be a crucial solution to help users connect to major public transportation systems.

The system can provide flexibility to areas with lower ridership where fixed routes wouldn’t be sustainable, filling in the gaps in traditional public transport especially for first-and-last-mile connections.

It is also efficient because it helps reduce wait times and optimise routes, making them potentially faster than traditional buses.

The Selangor government announced the appointment of Asia Mobiliti and the second DRT provider, Badan Bas Coach Sdn Bhd, at a public forum organised by the Selangor state government with Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam and Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated on June 15, 2023.

The Selangor Mobility brand logo and zone announcement at the Selangor Smart City and Digital Economy Convention was later revealed on October 20, 2023.

Read Malay Mail’s summary of the controversy here.