KUALA LUMPUR: The government has not decided on the cancellation of the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) contract awarded to Iris Corporation Bhd, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said the matter concerning the contract and the company had been discussed at the Cabinet meeting.
"It is true that the government discussed the matter following a Cabinet paper I presented at the meeting. However, the paper is merely an informative note rather than a memo. Besides, Cabinet ministers have not made a policy decision on the matter.
"The note presented was in the form of a report on the progress of the project.
"Iris Corp was awarded the NIISe project contract worth RM1.2 billion in March 2021, which has to be completed by August 2024.
However, as of March 2023, the company had not reached the desired level of project progress.
"So I am responsible for reporting the matter to the Cabinet because this project costs RM1.2 billion," he said in response to a news portal report today that the Cabinet had decided to cancel the NIISe project contract offered to Iris Corp.
He told reporters this after attending the annual general meeting of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) at the Royal Malaysian Police College.
Saifuddin emphasised that the Home Ministry is committed to the success of the NIISe project and protecting the interests of the users, including the Immigration Department, to ensure that the delivery of services to the people is not affected.
"The Cabinet has instructed the ministry to make a recommendation on the status of the project, and the ministry has until April this year to submit a memo to the Cabinet that requires a decision on the direction of the project.
"At the moment, the ministry and I are managing this matter. I don't want to speculate and make any assumptions because this matter needs research.
"Of course, a large-scale project has several parameters before deciding whether to continue or cancel it," he said.