18/05/2026
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NexG Berhad Responds to False, Misleading and Defamatory Allegations Circulated on Social Media
Kuala Lumpur, 18 May 2026 – NexG Berhad (“NexG” or “the Company”) refers to a series of Facebook postings authored by Betty Teh containing numerous allegations, insinuations and speculative narratives concerning the Company’s involvement in Malaysia’s MyKad and Passport ecosystem.
The Company categorically rejects these allegations, which are misleading, selectively presented, factually distorted and in several instances entirely false.
The postings contain speculative narratives and selective assertions that omit material factual, operational and procurement context.
1) FALSE CLAIM: “No public tender. No open competition. Just a direct government contract renewed again and again.”
This statement is demonstrably false.
NexG’s involvement in both the MyKad and Malaysian International Passport projects originated through open and competitive Government procurement processes, including Concept Request for Proposal (“CRFP”) exercises and public tenders participated in by multiple industry players. For the MyKad project, ten (10) companies and consortiums participated in the original CRFP exercise under the Multimedia Super Corridor initiative before the project was awarded to the GMPC consortium in 1999.
In 2009, following quality concerns involving the earlier PVC-based MyKad cards, the Government conducted another open tender involving ten (10) participating companies. NexG and IRIS were subsequently shortlisted for final evaluation. Following approximately one year of technical and commercial evaluation, NexG was selected based on:
• superior polycarbonate technology;
• enhanced security features; and
• pricing approximately 22% lower than the previous supplier, generating estimated Government savings of RM20 million.
All procurements were subject to technical and commercial evaluations conducted by the relevant Government authorities. The suggestion that the Company “never went through open tender” is therefore entirely untrue.
2) FALSE CLAIM: “Contracts were renewed again and again because of political connections.”
This allegation ignores the operational and technological realities of the national identity and secure document industry. The industry involves specialised local manufacturing capability, national security compliance requirements and substantial upfront infrastructure investment, all of which are material considerations in operational continuity and procurement decisions. Continuity considerations are particularly critical in national identity and passport issuance systems involving public service delivery and national security infrastructure. Subsequent contract extensions and procurements were awarded after NexG consistently demonstrated:
• reliable operational performance;
• improved product durability;
• enhanced security standards; and
• continued cost reductions benefiting the Government.
NexG subsequently provided additional pricing reductions of up to 12.5% for MyKad supply, generating further estimated Government savings of approximately RM229 million. Under the Government’s later pay-per-use operational model, NexG’s solution also offered approximately 40% operational cost savings for MyKad services compared to competing proposals. These decisions were based on operational capability and commercial value, rather than political narratives retrospectively constructed without proper operational or procurement context.
The Company further notes that several short-term contract extensions granted during and after the Covid-19 pandemic arose due to extraordinary operational circumstances affecting document issuance demand and implementation timelines.
During the pandemic period, national issuance volumes for MyKad and passports declined significantly due to movement restrictions, border closures and reduced public applications. As a result, certain contracted supply quantities could not be fully utilised within the original contract period despite the operational capability remaining in place. The Government therefore granted extensions primarily to allow the completion and fulfilment of previously contracted quantities and continuity of public service delivery. Any disruption to the continuity of MyKad and passport issuance systems would have significant implications for national public service delivery, border control operations and national security administration.
Importantly, these extensions did not occur in the absence of market evaluation. Over a period exceeding two years and across multiple interim extensions, the Government actively evaluated alternative suppliers and consortium structures through various technical, operational and commercial evaluation exercises, including proposals involving Muehlbauer Technologies Sdn Bhd, Percetakan Keselamatan Nasional Sdn Bhd (PKN) and another partner.
However, due to the substantial technological, operational, localisation and national security barriers to entry associated with Malaysia’s secure identity document ecosystem, the consortium which had been previously selected was ultimately unable to deliver a commercially and operationally viable end-to-end implementation solution within the required timeframe despite extended evaluation and development periods and was unable to finance the RM600 million required.
Following the inability to achieve a viable operational implementation within the timeframe of 2 years, the proposed arrangement did not proceed further and the Government proceeded to award the Mykad and Passport projects to NexG.
These developments underscore the significant complexity of establishing compliant national identity and passport manufacturing capability, including the need for substantial capital investment, specialised local infrastructure, secure semiconductor sourcing, highly trained personnel and proven operational deployment capability. In highly sensitive national identity ecosystems, proven live operational deployment capability at nationwide scale is itself a critical qualification requirement.
3) FALSE CLAIM: “Passport chip contract awarded despite unsatisfactory track record.”
This statement is false and materially misleading.
The Malaysian International Passport datapage project was awarded through an open Government tender process in 2012 involving nine (9) participating companies. NexG was selected following technical and commercial evaluation because of the superior quality, durability and security performance of its proposed solution, particularly the datapage hinge design. The selection process involved comparative technical assessment, operational evaluation and pricing review by the relevant authorities.
The Facebook posting selectively omits that NexG’s technological improvements and pricing reductions generated substantial Government savings across multiple passport-related procurements:
• approximately RM9 million savings from initial chip procurement;
• approximately RM56.25 million savings from subsequent chip procurements; and
• additional savings from passport booklet enhancements.
The allegation that NexG possessed an “unsatisfactory track record” is entirely contradicted by the Government’s continued procurement decisions based on performance, pricing competitiveness and technological capability.
Misleading Claim Regarding Passport Shortage
The Facebook posting further attempts to imply operational failure by NexG in connection with a passport shortage incident.
This portrayal is misleading and incomplete.
As publicly documented, the shortage arose during a technical dispute regarding datapage quality assessment between parties involved in the production process. Following comprehensive inspection, it was confirmed that the datapages complied with agreed technical specifications. Production subsequently resumed following Government instructions and the issue was resolved.
At no point was NexG found to have breached contractual or technical obligations.
Speculative and Defamatory Political Narratives
The Facebook posting attempts to associate NexG with various political figures and individuals across multiple administrations through speculative associations and unverified inferences. References to family relationships, alleged proxy shareholdings and unrelated personal transactions are presented without evidence of wrongdoing by NexG.
The Company notes that several allegations within the posting itself are expressly acknowledged by the author as not having been established in court, publicly confirmed or supported beyond timing-based speculation.
Such assertions remain unverified and unsupported by objective evidence.
Long-Term National Security Investment
The public should understand that MyKad and Passport production involves highly specialised national security infrastructure requiring extensive technical expertise, local manufacturing capability and significant upfront investment. It is estimated that approximately RM600 million in capital expenditure and approximately 18 months of implementation time are required to establish compliant secure document manufacturing capability.
In practice, the establishment of a compliant end-to-end secure identity document ecosystem requires significantly longer overall implementation timelines when procurement, equipment fabrication, material sourcing and workforce development are considered comprehensively.
The process typically involves:
• approximately one year for Government procurement and technical evaluation processes;
• approximately 18 months to establish operational manufacturing capability;
• additional lead times of up to one year for the procurement, fabrication and commissioning of specialised secure manufacturing equipment;
• extended lead times for sourcing secure raw materials, secure substrates and internationally controlled semiconductor chips; and
• extensive recruitment, security vetting, training and capability development of specialised local personnel.
As MyKad and passport documents constitute sovereign national security documents, critical components of the production and personalisation process are required to be performed locally within Malaysia and cannot simply be outsourced to overseas facilities.
In addition, personalisation and issuance processes must be performed within secure Government-approved personalisation operating centres (“POC”) under stringent operational and security controls.
NexG undertook these investments and commercial risks over many years to support Malaysia’s sovereign identity document ecosystem and technological self-sufficiency. These are objective industrial and operational realities rather than speculative political narratives.
Conclusion
The Company also notes that earlier procurement structures involving national identity and passport infrastructure contemplated concession periods extending up to approximately 35 years due to the substantial capital intensity, operational complexity and long-term infrastructure commitments required within the secure identity document industry.
NexG undertook these investments and strategic commercial risks with a long-term commitment towards building Malaysia’s sovereign secure identity document capabilities.
Today, NexG remains one of the very few companies in the region capable of delivering a fully integrated end-to-end secure identity ecosystem encompassing secure document manufacturing, chip integration, personalisation systems, issuance infrastructure and operational deployment.
The Company is not aware of any competing local provider presently capable of independently delivering the complete end-to-end MyKad and passport ecosystem at equivalent operational scale within Malaysia.
NexG Berhad’s position within Malaysia’s MyKad and Passport ecosystem was built through:
• competitive procurement participation;
• technological capability;
• long-term strategic investment;
• operational ex*****on; and
• continuous cost and security improvements delivered to the Government.
The Company recognises the importance of public scrutiny and accountability in matters involving national infrastructure and public procurement. The Company remains committed to ensuring that public discourse concerning its role in Malaysia’s secure identity ecosystem is grounded in accurate facts, operational context and documented procurement history.
To date, the Company is not aware of any judicial finding, regulatory determination or official enforcement action establishing wrongdoing in relation to the matters alleged.
NexG reserves all legal rights against any party disseminating false, malicious or defamatory statements intended to damage the Company’s reputation, stakeholder confidence and business interests.
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About NexG Berhad
NexG Berhad, formerly known as Datasonic Group Berhad, is one of the most prominent security-related integrated technology solutions providers in Malaysia with a strong track record in mission-critical national projects. It has been listed on the Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad Main Market since 2012. NexG offers strong technical capabilities that are backed up by a talented in-house research and development ("R&D") team. It specialises in multipurpose national identification cards, International Civil Aviation Organisation ("ICAO") compliant ePassports, auto gates with multimodal biometrics and facial recognition systems, financial smart cards, integrated CCTV and surveillance systems with video analytics, and healthcare-related ICT solutions. Since 2012, NexG has been the provider for the Malaysia National ID ("MyKad") project, and since 2016, it has been the vendor supplying integrated ICAO-compliant e-passport solutions to the Malaysian government. NexG is also a pioneer and a major provider of ATM/Debit Card and Europay, Mastercard, and Visa ("EMV") credit and debit card personalization systems and solutions.
Date: 18 May 2026
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