KUALA LUMPUR: Datasonic Group Bhd has clarified that neither the company nor any of its directors had issued any payment to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in relation to the supply of 12.5 million chips for Malaysian passports.
In a filing to the stock market, Datasonic said its unit Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd (DTSB) won a 5-year contract to supply passport polycarbobate datapages and printing system based on per passport produce through open tender in April 2012.
Datasonic said DTSB was awarded the contract to supply of 12.5 million chips on 15 December 2015 based on value proposition of enhanced chips security (to put the chips bonded into the polycarbonate datapage instead of at the back of passport cover).
Also, DTSB's pricing was 15 per cent lower compared to the previous vendor and this provided RM56.25 million savings to the Government for five years, it added.
Datasonic Group Bhd was implicated in criminal charges against Zahid at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today.
According to court documents, Zahid as the previous Home Minister received a RM5 million cheque from a Datasonic Group director for the company to supply 12.5 million chips for Malaysian passports. Zahid was also charged for receiving another cheque of RM1 million from a Data Sonic director, again in relation to the Malaysian passport chips.
As at the lunch break, Datasonic’s share price lost 25.5 sen to 44 sen with 58.59 million shares traded. Trading in the company’s shares have been suspended for the rest of the day.