Selangor Umno is currently on a tour of the state to explain the controversy regarding the establishment of Darul Ehsan Investment Group (DEIG).

In a press conference today, its secretary Budiman Mohd Zohdi said the rakyat cannot accept a company established as a middleman to deal with the investments of 12 subsidiaries of Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI).

He disclosed Selangor Umno had started the roadshow last Thursday in Shah Alam.

"Next week, we will go to Ampang. We will organise briefing and dialogues sessions in every parliamentary constituency as we feel the rakyat should be informed of these issues," said Budiman ( photo ), who is also Selangor BN secretary.

According to him, the crux of the issue is whether DEIG should be set up at all.

The decision to conduct a roadshow was called after Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamad Azmin Ali's failure in explaining the necessity of DEIG, which made the Selangor opposition feel there is a hidden agenda, Budiman said.

"There is something fishy ( ada udang di sebalik batu ). Why the simple questions I asked on behalf of the rakyat cannot be answered?" he asked.

MBI more transparent than DEIG

Budiman rebutted Azmin's argument on the necessity to set up a new company.

Azmin ( photo ) had argued that MBI was "tainted" and could not contribute to state revenue through dividends, while its 12 subsidiaries were burdened by legacies, and thus a clean and professional new company was indeed needed for the task.

"MBI is a holding company. A holding company is cost centre rather than a profit centre," said Budiman, who is also Sungai Panjang assemblyperson.

The state government can either choose to rationalise, consolidate or merge the companies instead of adding a new company, which merely acts as a "middleman", he said.

"The board of directors of MBI and DEIG are the same, so why duplicate bureaucracy by setting up DEIG?" he asked.

In his view, MBI is more transparent and systematic than DEIG as the former is bound by state enactments compared to a private limited company.

While the menteri besar argued that the state government will ensure check and balance in DEIG, Budiman said the crux of the issue is the role of DEIG, and not the state government.

The two decision making posts, the chief executive officer and chief operating officer of DEIG, were not done via open appointment, he added.

DEIG, which is set up under Companies Act, only need to comply with transparency practice, he said, but this was not made a "mandatory compliance" where it be must tabled to the rakyat prior to any decisions.

Thus, Budiman questioned whether there are laws to quarantee that the new company can operate in a transparent manner.

"The menteri besar has failed to explain the necessity of the new company as this raises suspicion if the assets (of the subsidiaries) can be open to abuse. I will throw the questions back to the menteri besar to explain," he said.

He added that the rakyat has given Selangor Umno the moral support to conduct the roadshow.

Budiman also called upon DAP's Tony Pua ( photo ) and PKR's Rafizi Ramli, the two lawmakers who were vocal on issues of integrity, to voice out their concern on matters relating to DEIG.

DEIG, a RM2 paid-up capital company, was set up by MBI in Dec 2014 to manage the strategic investment, rationalise and restructure all the assets of 12 subsidiaries of MBI.

When asked about Semambu assemblyperson Lee Chean Chung's contention that Umno was attempting to capitalise on the DEIG issue to divert attention from 1MDB, Budiman disagreed.

"Is it wrong that I, being a state representative, request for information from the menteri besar?

"If so, then this is difficult. Whatever questions raised by them are tenable, but there is a hidden agenda for BN to raise questions," he said.