KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian firm whose listed shares have lost four-fifths of their value since August amid financial troubles is believed to owe over RM200 million (S$63 million) to the Road Transport Department (RTD).
Official documents seen by The Straits Times show that Zetrix AI failed to hand over money collected for the renewal of vehicle road tax, driving licences and traffic summonses from the very start of its three-year contract in May 2023.
This failure comes despite Zetrix – formerly known as MyEG, after the online government services portal of the same name – making billions of ringgit since it was first appointed in 2000 to provide digital counter services for the likes of the RTD and the Immigration Department (permits and insurance for foreign workers).
“As of end September, the amount outstanding is well over RM200 million,” said a government official who asked for anonymity as the matter is politically sensitive due to UMNO’s presence in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s multi-coalition government.
“Right now, the Transport Ministry is mulling the next step as it wants to have a more reliable digital payment system but also wants to make sure the money owed is paid up.”
As at press time, Zetrix has not responded to ST’s request for comment.
Zetrix has long had strong ties to prominent political figures, and its current executive chairman, Norraesah Mohamed, is a former UMNO supreme council member and senator. It also suffered a sharp decline in its share price after former human resources minister Saravanan Murugan was charged with corruption in late August, although Zetrix has denied any links to the leader from UMNO’s Barisan Nasional coalition.
Listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2025, the firm was a darling of the stock market when it was still called MyEG as a pioneer in online government services transactions. At its peak in 2018, it had a market capitalisation of over RM10 billion. It was valued at over RM6 billion in early 2026. - The Straits Times/ANN
