PETALING JAYA: The Office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court of Malaysia says it has taken taken note of the Public Accounts Committee's (PAC) findings on the management of the e-Jamin system.
In a statement Wednesday (Oct 7), the chief registrar's office said that since the issue arose in January 2024, the office had cooperated with all agencies to ensure that any issues were resolved.
"In line with the instructions given, the e-Jamin system has continued to operate under an exemption granted by the Finance Ministry. This is to ensure that judicial services are not affected," the statement read.
Accordingly, the chief registrar's office said it took note of the PAC’s conclusions and recommendations, which included a call to formulate a long-term solution for managing bail monies to avoid dependence on private vendors.
"The chief registrar's office is committed to ensuring that service delivery is not affected and that existing accounting regulations and the Federal Constitution are complied with, in establishing an online bail money management system in line with the Judiciary’s objective of ensuring access to justice," it said.
Earlier, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said that the e-Jamin system came under the purview of the chief registrar's office and said that the chief registrar should provide an official explanation on the PAC's findings.
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.
