By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 25: Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen has expressed concerns regarding a local app, dBazzar, which allegedly prevents its users from withdrawing their money.
He said since the Sarawak government endorsed the e-commerce platform in November 2021 and the fact that a State government agency—Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (SAINS)—had a 10 per cent share in the company, many Sarawakians were encouraged to use dBazzar to pay their housing loans, car loans, and credit card debts in exchange for cash rebates and commission bonuses.
“In February this year, many of the dBazzar users discovered that the money they paid to dBazzar did not go to the purpose for which their money was paid and that they could not withdraw their funds from the platform.
“As a result, it is estimated that hundreds of Sarawakians, if not thousands, have millions of their money stuck in dBazzar Sdn Bhd,” Chong said in a statement today.
Chong, who is also Padungan assemblyman, further disclosed that an investigation into the company had shown that SAINS had actually transferred out all its 10 per cent shares in dBazzar Sdn Bhd sometime in January this year.
Sensing that something is amiss and worrying that their millions might be totally lost, Chong said many of the dBazzar users had lodged police reports on the matter.
Following this, Chong himself has submitted an emergency motion under Standing Order 18(1) to the Speaker of Dewan Rakyat to discuss the dBazzar issue.
He said the Speaker will determine on Wednesday (March 27) whether the motion will be debated in Parliament or not.
“As this involves a matter of public interest in that many were affected and huge sums of the public’s money were involved, it is incumbent upon the Government to take action and for the Parliament to discuss this matter to explore ways to resolve the matter and help these users retrieve their hard-earned money from dBazzar Sdn Bhd,” he emphasised. — DayakDaily
