Over RM106mil spent before NIISe contract cancelled, says Home Minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Some RM106.93mil was spent for the payment of user requirement provisions before the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) project’s contract was cancelled, says the Home Ministry.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government made the decision to terminate the NIISe contract for failing to fulfil its obligation within the period stipulated in the agreement.

He said the RM1.12bil project was awarded to IRIS Information Technology Systems Sdn Bhd (IITS), a subsidiary to IRIS Corporation Berhad effective March 1, 2021, to Aug 31, 2025.

“The government however terminated the agreement with IITS through a notice dated Aug 10, 2023, effective Aug 14.

“Since the project began on March 1, 2021, its progress never adhered to timelines set,” he said in a written parliamentary to Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah) on Tuesday (Nov 21).

Mas Ermieyati had asked the Home Ministry to justify the cancellation of the project and the amount spent by the government to develop the NIISe.

To this, Saifuddin said the contract was terminated as the physical progress of the project was delayed by four months.

He added that the company failed to provide the development environment to start the development of the system and failed to complete the handovers within the prescribed remedy period.

Saifuddin then added that a pre-qualification open tender procurement was being carried out to identify highly qualified contractors to ensure the stalled NIISe project can provide value-for-money returns to the government.

“A new contractor will be appointed once the pre-qualification open tender procurement is completed, whereby the NIISe project will be implemented in stages across 264 locations nationwide at 27 immigration attaches around the world,” Saifuddin said.

The NIISe was developed to replace the existing Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs) system that had been operational for over 20 years.