KUALA LUMPUR: One of the "unregistered" companies that won a Health Ministry contract is demanding an apology from the auditor-general for "tarnishing" its name.

Allied Physics Sdn Bhd owner Peter Terence D'Cruz said the auditor-general's report implied that his company was not qualified or licensed to handle radioactive material and X-ray equipment.

"This has caused massive damage to the company's reputation.

"We have the necessary licences. As a small company, we cannot withstand such allegations, especially from someone as respected as the auditor-general," he said.

D'Cruz said Allied Physics, an eight-year-old company that tests and certifies X-ray machines, had about 600 to 700 clients around the country.
"They come back to us year after year, and to say that we don't have the appropriate licences would be disastrous for the company."

D'Cruz said if the auditor-general did not retract the report, the company would file a suit.

An official with the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) said Allied Physics was registered with it and qualified to deal with specific irradiating apparatus.

In an immediate response, Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang said the report was based on information supplied by the Health Ministry.

"Why didn't they point it out to us when we were in discussions with them? There was ample consultation time and the ministry could have corrected us.

"We also sent them a draft copy of the report so that they could respond to it. They did not.

"If the ministry could not supply us with the documentation showing that the companies are licensed, then something must be wrong with their filing system."

On Allied Physics' demand for a retraction, Ambrin said the facts would be rechecked.

"If they can show proof that they are registered, well and good."

Meanwhile, another company's credentials were also questioned in the report.

Queries had been raised as to why Glotel Sdn Bhd was awarded a RM33 million contract to supply scanning machines to the Health Ministry when it was not registered with the Contractor Service Centre.

However, an official at the Contractor Service Centre said yesterday only contractors who worked on government buildings were required to be registered with the centre.

"Those supplying machinery need not be registered with us to get government contracts," the official said.

The report also questioned why Glotel was given a contract to handle and transport a radioactive material known as FlueroDeoxiglucose when it did not have the necessary Class A and Class D licences from the AELB.

However, the AELB confirmed that Glotel possessed not only A and D licences, but also C and H licences.

Glotel Sdn Bhd director Lim Hock Seang appeared bemused with the report's findings, insisting that his company was properly registered and qualified to supply X-ray machines to government hospitals.

He said the RM33 million charged by Glotel for the machines was a fair price. "The machines were the first of their kind in the country when we sold them to the ministry a few years ago."