FMT:
MACC must investigate losses in A-G’s Report, says C4
C4 says the RM681.7 million lost could have been used for welfare schemes and infrastructure projects that would have benefitted Malaysians.
A padi planting scheme chalked up losses of RM660 million, according to the Auditor-General’s Report 2022.
PETALING JAYA: An anti-graft watchdog has called for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the RM681.7 million in taxpayers’ money lost due to shortcomings in six government programmes as outlined in the Auditor-General’s Report 2022.
In a statement, the Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) said it was key to find out if corruption had contributed to these losses, adding that the sum lost could have been used for welfare schemes and infrastructure projects that would have benefitted Malaysians.
C4 said the failures highlight the flaws in Malaysia’s public procurement system and cast further doubt on whether the selection process for contractors was carried out in an open and transparent manner.
The NGO also questioned if the chosen contractors had the merit and qualifications to carry out the government projects.
“Public procurement is an area particularly vulnerable to corruption, and the lack of an entrenched law to regulate the related processes as well as impose accountability measures means that the notion of ‘wastage’ potentially camouflages the more detrimental issue of public monies being directed into the personal accounts of corrupt officials,” C4 said.
“It is incredibly frustrating that this is just another notch in a long-standing record of public funds being mismanaged and leading to massive losses.”
The report released on Wednesday said the losses were derived from six projects out of the 16 performance audits carried out across 14 ministries. The audit was carried out on projects and programmes worth almost RM209 billion.
Auditor-General Wan Suraya Wan Radzi said that the biggest loss came from the padi planting programme (RM660 million), while the other major losses were in the Langkawi Development Authority’s (LADA) real estate development programme (RM14.3 million), firearms supervisory and management under the home ministry (RM6.3 million), a marine rehabilitation programme (RM490,000), factory investment incentives (RM300,000), and safe city initiatives (RM120,000).
The audit showed 11 of the 16 projects failed to meet their objectives. The performance of three projects could not be ascertained, while only two succeeded in their objectives.
“The breadth of failures across projects in multiple ministries is stunning, especially because many of these projects were concerned with the provision of important goods and services that is meant to directly benefit Malaysians,” C4 said.
On the padi planting programme, Wan Suraya said it revealed the government’s failure to manage the use of land and logistics of supplies needed for the operation of this programme.
On the procurement of firearms and accessories by the home ministry for the police, she said the ministry had failed to adequately follow up on the delivery of supplies valued at RM7.5 million since 2014, leading to losses of approximately RM6.3 million.
“Additionally, the government did not take action despite the failure of the contracted party to supply the contractually required goods and services for an extended period of time, and subsequently did not face any repercussions at the time of audit,” C4 said.
According to C4, the common thread between these scandals is that their harm could have been prevented or minimised through the introduction of institutional reforms that narrow the avenue for public officials to be able to exploit the lack of transparency.
It went on to urge the government to focus on consistent and periodic public reporting on projects so their progress can be tracked throughout its lifespan, which it said will prevent losses from being revealed only after “millions have been wasted”.
C4 recommended that the role of the auditor-general’s office be further empowered, and their capacity strengthened to be able to conduct audits more regularly and unannounced on government bodies.
It also called for the government to table a Government Procurement Bill that would codify procurement procedures to ensure transparency in the selection of suppliers and contractors, as well as their merit and proven track record in providing goods and services.
PETALING JAYA: An anti-graft watchdog has called for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the RM681.7 million in taxpayers’ money lost due to shortcomings in six government programmes as outlined in the Auditor-General’s Report 2022.
In a statement, the Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) said it was key to find out if corruption had contributed to these losses, adding that the sum lost could have been used for welfare schemes and infrastructure projects that would have benefitted Malaysians.
C4 said the failures highlight the flaws in Malaysia’s public procurement system and cast further doubt on whether the selection process for contractors was carried out in an open and transparent manner.
The NGO also questioned if the chosen contractors had the merit and qualifications to carry out the government projects.
“Public procurement is an area particularly vulnerable to corruption, and the lack of an entrenched law to regulate the related processes as well as impose accountability measures means that the notion of ‘wastage’ potentially camouflages the more detrimental issue of public monies being directed into the personal accounts of corrupt officials,” C4 said.
“It is incredibly frustrating that this is just another notch in a long-standing record of public funds being mismanaged and leading to massive losses.”
The report released on Wednesday said the losses were derived from six projects out of the 16 performance audits carried out across 14 ministries. The audit was carried out on projects and programmes worth almost RM209 billion.
Auditor-General Wan Suraya Wan Radzi said that the biggest loss came from the padi planting programme (RM660 million), while the other major losses were in the Langkawi Development Authority’s (LADA) real estate development programme (RM14.3 million), firearms supervisory and management under the home ministry (RM6.3 million), a marine rehabilitation programme (RM490,000), factory investment incentives (RM300,000), and safe city initiatives (RM120,000).
The audit showed 11 of the 16 projects failed to meet their objectives. The performance of three projects could not be ascertained, while only two succeeded in their objectives.
“The breadth of failures across projects in multiple ministries is stunning, especially because many of these projects were concerned with the provision of important goods and services that is meant to directly benefit Malaysians,” C4 said.
On the padi planting programme, Wan Suraya said it revealed the government’s failure to manage the use of land and logistics of supplies needed for the operation of this programme.
On the procurement of firearms and accessories by the home ministry for the police, she said the ministry had failed to adequately follow up on the delivery of supplies valued at RM7.5 million since 2014, leading to losses of approximately RM6.3 million.
“Additionally, the government did not take action despite the failure of the contracted party to supply the contractually required goods and services for an extended period of time, and subsequently did not face any repercussions at the time of audit,” C4 said.
According to C4, the common thread between these scandals is that their harm could have been prevented or minimised through the introduction of institutional reforms that narrow the avenue for public officials to be able to exploit the lack of transparency.
It went on to urge the government to focus on consistent and periodic public reporting on projects so their progress can be tracked throughout its lifespan, which it said will prevent losses from being revealed only after “millions have been wasted”.
C4 recommended that the role of the auditor-general’s office be further empowered, and their capacity strengthened to be able to conduct audits more regularly and unannounced on government bodies.
It also called for the government to table a Government Procurement Bill that would codify procurement procedures to ensure transparency in the selection of suppliers and contractors, as well as their merit and proven track record in providing goods and services.
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kt comments:
Standard corruption in our system - meanwhile, productive farmers in Kanthan Tambun have been dispossessed of the land they've worked on for more than 6 decades, and PMX still pays no heed to problems in his own constituency.
This is an example of how our corrupt system allows Singapore, lacking Malaysia's abundance of natural resources, to ascend to, and stay at 1st Class World standards while Malaysia languishes at the bottom of the barrel. Thanks to KKK and his legacy of sheer corruption.
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