Datasonic seeks settlement over passport booklets deal

PETALING JAYA: Datasonic Group Bhd is seeking an amicable settlement with Percetakan Keselamatan Nasional Sdn Bhd (PKN) over the supply of 13.41 million Malaysian passport booklets in 2016.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the company said its unit – Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd (DTSB) – would continue to pursue an amicable settlement with PKN, failing which, it would leave it to the courts to determine the fair price.

The legal suit would not affect DTSB’s Malaysian passport booklet contract with the government for five years, as PKN was only its appointed subcontractor for that interim period of six months, it said. PKN is a unit of Fima Corp Bhd.

Since September 2017, DTSB had started to produce the new booklets and there was an official launch in January 2018.

The new booklets incorporated the design concept of flora and fauna, batik, songket and the Rukun Negara, which the old Malaysian passports do not have.

To recap, on April 27, 2016, DTSB accepted the letter of award from the Home Ministry to supply 13.416 million booklets to the Immigration Department from Dec 1, 2016 to Nov 30, 2021. DTSB appointed PKN as a subcontractor to deliver the first 1.5 million old-design Malaysian booklets from Dec 1, 2016 until May 31, 2017 and a copy of the draft agreement was sent to PKN based on DTSB’s offer price.

Although PKN did not agree with DTSB’s offer price, it continued to supply the old Malaysian passport booklets in which time the pricing for each old Malaysian passport booklet had still not been agreed upon by both parties.