Zetrix (ex-MyEG) owes Malaysia's road tax office over RM200M in collections

Zetrix AI, formerly MyEG, had been the darling of Malaysian e-government services since its appointment in 2000 to run digital counter services for the Road Transport Department and Immigration Department. Official documents show it failed to hand over money collected for road tax renewals, driving licences and traffic summonses from the start of its three-year RTD contract in May 2023 - by end-September 2026 the amount outstanding was 'well over RM200 million', said an official. On October 2, 2026 the RTD said it would suspend MyEG and Zetrix as collecting agents from October 5.

Valued above RM10 billion at its 2018 peak, the company was shaken when UMNO lost power in 2018 and its monopolistic contracts came into question; the RTD deal expired in May 2026, making MyEG just one option beside the department's own gateways. A pivot into AI and blockchain - powering the MyDigital ID platform - drew an RM156 million investment from the World Bank's IFC in February 2026. But auditors flagged development costs of RM3.7 billion, over half of total assets, as a key audit matter, while borrowings climbed to RM2.2 billion, nearly 14 times their level of five years earlier.

In August 2026 margin calls on pledged shares forced managing director and largest shareholder Wong Thean Soon to divest nearly two-thirds of his 29 per cent stake. The shares closed at 16.5 sen on October 1, down about 80 per cent since the start of 2026, valuing the group at just over RM1.2 billion. The sell-down came amid political sensitivity: former human resources minister Saravanan Murugan was charged with corruption in late August - Zetrix denied any links - and the company's executive chairman, Norraesah Mohamed, is a former UMNO supreme council member.

Collections taken from the public for road tax, licences and summonses were not remitted, beginning in the first year of the contract.

The founder pledged the bulk of his 29 per cent stake as loan collateral, so a falling share price forced fire-sale divestments.

Corporate debt ballooned to RM2.2 billion while auditors flagged RM3.7 billion of development spending as a key audit risk.

The loss of monopoly contracts after 2018 pushed the company into leveraged bets on unproven technology lines instead of a smaller stable core.

Money collected on behalf of government is not working capital: spending trust funds to service leverage turns a cash-flow crunch into a licence-losing breach.

The RTD suspends both MyEG and Zetrix as collecting agents from October 5, 2026, and the Transport Ministry is weighing how to recover the money while moving to a more reliable digital payment system. Zetrix had not responded to press queries at publication; Wong's forced divestments, begun August 27, were still running, and the ministry noted it must both secure repayment and ensure continuity of service for motorists.