KUALA LUMPUR: The Chief Registrar of the Federal Court should provide an official explanation on the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) findings on the management of the e-Jamin system, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the system came under the purview of the Chief Registrar’s Office.
“We have informed the Chief Registrar. Perhaps his office will make a statement,” she told reporters in Parliament on Wednesday (Oct 7).
The PAC recently said the company operating the courts’ online bail payment system had invested RM130.8mil in bail money under its own name and earned up to RM5mil a year in interest, while operating for five years without a formal government contract.
PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said bail payments made through the platform were deposited into commercial accounts belonging to operator Dapat Vista Sdn Bhd instead of the Consolidated Trust Account.
She said this breached Article 97(1) of the Federal Constitution and Section 7 of the Financial Procedure Act 1957.
Of the RM193.71mil in bail deposits held as at Dec 31, 2024, Mas Ermieyati said Dapat Vista had invested RM130.8mil under the company’s name, earning between RM4mil and RM5mil in interest annually.
She said e-Jamin had been operating in 192 courts nationwide since Jan 10, 2020, without a letter of appointment, letter of acceptance or formal contract with the Federal Government.
The system was introduced to allow bail to be paid online, reducing the risk of accused persons spending an additional one or two days in remand when charged late in the day after banks had closed.
