KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 — A DAP lawmaker today urged the Treasury secretary-general and a Cabinet minister today to explain Putrajaya’s financial arrangements with Uber as the US investigates the ride-hailing company for suspected kickbacks abroad.

Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong highlighted a Bloomberg report that cited Uber Technologies Inc’s internal review of its Asia operations as saying its law firm was probing a corporate donation announced in August last year, of tens of thousands of dollars to government-backed entrepreneur hub Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (Magic).

Uber’s law firm is also investigating an alleged US$30 million (RM125.74 million) investment by the Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) into Uber made around that time.

According to the Bloomberg report, it is common for companies to conduct internal investigations in corporate fraud cases and to report those findings to the US Justice Department.

"Irwan Serigar Abdullah is the chairman for both Malaysian Global Innovation and Creative Centre (Magic) and pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadankan (KWAP). He owes the Malaysian public an answer on his role in the alleged Uber scandal,” Liew said in a statement, referring to the Treasury secretary-general.

"Magic must disclose the donation it received while KWAP, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Khazanah Nasional, as well as other GLICs (government-linked investment companies) must also disclose their investments in Uber to the Malaysian public as there is high probability of conflict of interest,” he added.

Liew noted that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri did not provide details of investments by Khazanah and other GLICs into Uber during the parliamentary debate in July on the passage of amendments to the Land Public Transport Act 2010 that legalised e-hailing services.

"I call on Nancy to respond to the revelation by the Bloomberg report,” said the MP.

"The Malaysian Parliament must never pass a bill of law just because it was heavily lobbied by a foreign firm (Uber) and some government officials could have unlawfully benefited in the process. The integrity of the Parliament is called into question. And the livelihood of taxi drivers, as well as Uber and Grab drivers, is at stake too.”

Liew claimed that taxis would be wiped out and e-hailing drivers would face lower wages in a duopoly of Uber and Grab if e-hailing services were legalised without a plan to help the taxi industry or to protect e-hailing drivers.

PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil also urged Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the matter.

"Among those who need to immediately give an explanation are Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah, who was the Treasury secretary-general, as well as the chairman of Magic and KWAP at the time both transactions involving Uber in 2016 was reported to have occurred,” he said in a separate statement today.

Fahmi noted that KWAP’s RM124 million investment into Uber had occurred on September 22, 2016, while Uber’s purported corporate donation to Magic was allegedly made in August 2016.