KUALA LUMPUR – Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has revealed that a contractor cartel controls food services in 20 to 30 Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) canteens.
He said the cartel secured contracts easily, allegedly with the help of certain politicians.
“Do you know why I started making site visits to MRSMs? What motivated me, aside from student complaints, was the involvement of canteen cartels. Yes, there are cartels – this came to light during a food poisoning incident.
“So when I conducted spot checks, I found fish portions meant to weigh 100g were only 20 to 30g. Menus didn’t follow specifications, and the canteens were dirty.
“Why? Because they had no staff.
“When we investigated further, we discovered a cartel. People have said before that Mara is full of cartels – well, it’s true. One cartel controls 20 to 30 MRSM canteens,” he said in the latest episode of Trick Lama by PODaBOOM, the podcast arm of Big Boom Media, which also produces Scoop.
The podcast is hosted by Big Boom Media CEO Datuk Zainul Arifin Mohammed Isa, group executive director Datuk Ahirudin Attan (better known as Rocky Bru), and group editor-in-chief Terence Fernandez.
Asyraf said his surprise visits confirmed longstanding concerns about the grip of cartel networks and political interests over Mara’s procurement, ultimately affecting service quality for students.
“I reviewed the procurement process – on paper, everything looks fine. But when you go on the ground, you find discrepancies, like contractors running MRSM Taiping’s canteen, but their registered address is in Sarawak.
“These things only come to light through direct inspection, and then you know where the problems are.
“Of course, there are people trying to maximise profit, and the ones bringing them in are politicians.
“Maybe the budget was slashed to accommodate this politician or that one – I don’t want to make accusations, but otherwise, how could it have gotten to this point?” he said.
He assured that stern action would be taken and comprehensive reforms introduced to ensure MRSM food procurement is transparent, fair, and centred on student welfare.
“If we’re talking about profit margins, Mara has already calculated – canteen budgets at MRSMs are higher than those at other schools,” he said.
In August last year, Asyraf made a surprise visit to MRSM Taiping after 31 students suffered food poisoning and were hospitalised.
During that visit, some students told him similar incidents had happened the year before, affecting as many as 50 students.
Following the incident, Mara terminated the contract of the MRSM Taiping canteen operator in September and filed a lawsuit seeking damages. – June 3, 2025