Latest news with #AuditorGeneral
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Perikatan deputy chief: PM talks reform, but ‘biased' A-G pick fails the test
KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) deputy chairman Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has raised concerns over the appointment of a serving civil servant as Auditor-General. He said the move goes against constitutional norms and undermines the principles of good governance and independence. 'According to Articles 7 and 105 (4) and (5) of the Federal Constitution, the Auditor-General should not be appointed from among those still actively serving in the civil service. While it may not be illegal, it certainly goes against the spirit of independence and accountability,' he said during a press conference in Parliament here today. Hamzah argued that the role demands independence from executive influence and questioned the credibility of the appointment, given that the appointee still reports to senior civil service officers, including the Director-General of Public Services and the Chief Secretary to the Government. He also cited the late Tan Sri Hadenan Jalil's appointment as a proper example, noting that Hadenan had resigned from his civil service post before becoming Auditor-General. 'The prime minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) talks about governance, but when it comes to implementation, it all falls apart. The people will see this as biased. The individual should have resigned before the appointment to maintain independence,' he said. Hamzah then went on to defend growing calls for a public protest this weekend, saying it reflects the people's frustration over unresolved issues and governance failures. He said several civil society organisations including Bersih, C4, IDEAS, Projek Sama, and others had met with the opposition to voice their dissatisfaction over current national issues. 'They are not happy, and when people are unhappy, it builds momentum. That's why many are planning to take to the streets this Saturday. 'Don't blame us. This is the people's response, they are fed up because so many issues have piled up. When I asked my team what issues we should raise today, they said there are a thousand. If each issue affects a group of a thousand people, that's already a million voices. That's how serious it is,' he said. Hamzah urged the authorities not to prevent or suppress the planned gathering and respect the public's right to express themselves.
Malay Mail
7 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Dewan Rakyat passes Auditor-General's Report 2/2025, ministries respond to audit findings
KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — The Dewan Rakyat yesterday approved the Auditor-General's Report (LKAN) 2/2025 on the Activities of Ministries/Departments/Statutory Bodies/Federal Government Companies, which contains matters raised from audits on five programmes, activities, and projects across seven ministries. The motion on it, tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, was passed by a majority voice vote after being debated by 32 Members of Parliament. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran, when winding up debate for the department, clarified that the Auditor-General may be appointed from among public service officers. 'For the information of Honourable Members, Clause 1 of Article 105 of the Federal Constitution provides that the Auditor-General shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Conference of Rulers. 'Referring to Article 105 read together with subparagraph 1(1) of the First Schedule to the Audit Act 1957 (Act 62), the Auditor-General may be appointed from among members of the public service, and such appointment is valid,' he said. Kulasegaran was responding to Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu), who had questioned the appointment of Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi as Auditor-General while she was still serving in the civil service. Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, during his winding-up speech for his ministry, said continuous improvements were being undertaken following LKAN's investigation into procurement management at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). He said that since February 28, several measures have been taken to align with the Higher Education Strategic Direction 2025, including encouraging the Internal Audit Committee to take follow-up action after discovering that several procurement circulars previously used were outdated. 'For example, UKM was still referring to Treasury Procurement Circular 2.0 when it had already been updated to version 2.2. The Pre-Tender and Coordination Committees have also been dissolved, effectively ending their functions,' he said. Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang, while responding on behalf of her ministry, said it had taken note of LKAN 2/2025's criticisms concerning Felcra Berhad's oil palm estate performance. She explained that plantation yields could only be seen progressively, with three out of four estates having shown increased output and profits, including Estet Telupid in Sabah, and Sungai Rawit 2 and Aring estates in Kelantan. 'However, the current performance of one estate, Estet Dabong, has yet to reach the targeted level. This must be understood in light of unexpected factors, such as a shortage of skilled plantation workers and extreme weather affecting harvesting operations. 'Nevertheless, Felcra has taken proactive measures, including increasing the number of harvesters and progressively repairing agricultural roads. Recovery efforts are expected to yield more positive results moving forward,' she said. During the winding-up session for the Ministry of Works, its minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the contractor selection process for Phase 1B of the Pan Borneo Sabah Highway Project was carried out through a selective pre-qualification open tender. He said this approach was vital to ensure that only companies with proven technical, financial, and experience capacity were awarded the large-scale, high-impact project. Nanta also acknowledged other challenges, including delays in land acquisition, utility relocation, and shortages of labour and construction materials, which had impacted project timelines. However, he said the ministry had taken improvement measures through engagements with relevant agencies. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, during the winding-up for his ministry, said that all comments and criticisms, including on procurement management, would be taken into account. The Dewan sits again today. — Bernama
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
PM orders ministers to rectify recurring audit issues
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has instructed all ministers to thoroughly address and act on recurring issues raised in the Auditor General's Report 2/2025. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the government took the issues seriously, including leakages, non-compliance, failure to meet conditions and planning weaknesses. She said they must be thoroughly reviewed and corrective action must be taken. "The government takes the issues raised in the AG's report seriously. Every criticism should serve as a lesson to prevent recurrence. "The prime minister has also stressed that all ministers, in line with the Federal Government Ministers' Orders, must scrutinise every observation raised in the report, especially involving repeated issues that have yet to be fully addressed by the responsible parties," she said. Azalina said this when tabling the motion for the report to be debated under Dewan Rakyat Standing Order 27(3). The AG's report released on Monday had flagged " serious irregularities" and "weaknesses" in projects and programmes in seven ministries. Among others, the report revealed that the implementation of the subsidised cooking oil programme suffered from weak enforcement and poor targeting, with no clear mechanisms in place to ensure the aid reaches eligible recipients. Azalina added that the government was of the view that every AG's report should continue to be debated in the Dewan Rakyat. "The efforts and commitment shown by all members of parliament clearly reflect the spirit of collective responsibility in safeguarding the integrity of the nation's financial management. "It also demonstrates our shared determination to strengthen the mechanism of checks and balances in the interest of the people. "In continuing reform efforts to enhance the efficiency, transparency and effectiveness of public entities, the government believes that each report should continue to be debated in the Dewan Rakyat. "This will allow for deeper scrutiny and attention from all parties and support the government's aim of improving public sector governance, aside from the examination by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)," she said.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: Familiar story in AG's Report as billions lost without action
HERE we go again. "Serious irregularities" and "weaknesses" in ministries and government entities are back as national bad news. Our lawmakers must be outraged to hear such misuse of the public purse on the first day of the Dewan Rakyat session. Whatever the year, the Auditor General's Report on government entities bleeding red ink remains very much the same story. There have been years of lessons, yet none learnt. Neither has there been the will to hold errant officers to account. For a nation that is in debt to the tune of RM1.28 trillion and trying hard to pay it off, that is heartbreaking. Why no one has the will to put an end to such systemic failures in the public service has become an annual question. Let's be clear. We are not counting pennies here. We are talking of hundreds of millions of ringgit. Of the five audits conducted over the period of the 11th and 12th Malaysia Plans, the auditors found serious irregularities in three. The first is Felcra Bhd's governance failure in four plantations involving a total of RM241.76 million from 2022 to 2024. Don't fault us for asking: Aren't the top management and board members up to the task? The second, an audit on Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's tender process, though involving a smaller sum — RM58.45 million — disclosed a mind-bending outcome. There, the Tender Procurement Committee selected companies that were not recommended by the Technical Evaluation, Financial Evaluation and Pre-Tender Committees. One overrides three? There can't be a clearer example of a violation of tender procedures. The culprits must not be spared. The third audit relates to army vehicle contract mismanagement. There, RM162.75 million in penalties for late delivery of Gempita vehicle remains uncollected and RM1.42 million in penalties for service delays has yet to be enforced. If that wasn't enough, RM107.54 million in service procurement was split into smaller packages, circumventing regulations. The other two audits findings were related to subsidised cooking oil programme flaws under the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry and weaknesses in the government's pre-qualification procurement introduced by the Finance Ministry, bringing the total value of the five audits to RM48.873 billion. Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) attributes the systemic breakdowns to three causes: outdated procedures, weak financial oversight and a culture of impunity. In our book, though, the culture of impunity is the root cause. Year after year leakages, wastages, irregularities and weaknesses have been highlighted by the Auditor General's Report, yet we hear little about the guilty being held accountable. Quiet slap on the wrists won't do. The government being transparent doesn't mean merely making the audit reports public, it must also be transparent about accountability. TI-M is right in calling on all implicated ministries and agencies to publicly disclose remedial actions within 30 days, covering recovery of funds, disciplinary measures and procedural reforms, to restore public trust. The Auditor General's Reports mustn't just be treated as something to be read and filed away. It must be a call to action. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission must spring into action, if it hasn't already. Accountability is the best medicine against the cancer of impunity.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
TI-M: AG's report exposes systemic failures, urges urgent reform
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has urged the government to enact structural reforms in response to the Auditor General's Report 2/2025, warning that repeated governance failures revealed are emblematic of systemic breakdowns. "Outdated procedures, weak financial oversight and a culture of impunity have allowed such practices to continue year after year," said the watchdog in a statement. TI-M welcomed the expanded audit scope and 2024 amendments to the Audit Act 1957, which empowers the auditor general to monitor the implementation of recommendations via the Auditor General's Dashboard. It also praised enforcement that helped recover RM157.73 million between 2024 and mid-2025. "However, laws and dashboards alone are insufficient. TI-M stresses that transparency must be matched with enforcement, and that every agency implicated must be held accountable without delay." TI-M said these recurring findings highlighted institutional weaknesses that demanded structural reform, not just administrative corrections. It highlighted examples from the AG's report, such as Felcra Bhd's governance failures in lease procurements worth RM241.76 million and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's RM58.45 million in irregular tenders awarded without proper committee recommendation. The group also highlighted the army's failure to collect RM162.75 million in penalties for delayed military vehicles deliveries and improperly fragmented procurement contracts, ongoing weaknesses in cooking oil subsidy management by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry and manipulation risks in the Finance Ministry's Pre-Qualification procurement method. It said there must be immediate action on four fronts—enforcement, public disclosure, independent monitoring and legislative reform. It demanded swift enforcement by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, police and Attorney-General's Chambers on all cases involving procurement fraud, abuse of power or negligence. It urged all implicated ministries and agencies to publicly disclose remedial actions within 30 days, covering recovery of funds, disciplinary measures and procedural reforms, to restore public trust. TI-M also pushed for mandatory implementation of Independent Expert Monitors in all Integrity Pacts for high-risk procurements, calling them a credible safeguard against collusion and corruption in major contracts. Finally, it called for the tabling of a comprehensive Public Procurement Act that would provide a unified, legally enforceable framework with transparency standards, legal sanctions, whistleblower protections and independent oversight. Meanwhile, Malaysia Integrity and Governance Society president Datuk Seri Dr Akhbar Satar said Malaysia must urgently enforce a stringent and transparent procurement framework to curb fraud, corruption and waste. He said this in response to findings in the Auditor General's Report. "Transparency is the antidote to the disease of corruption. Large amounts of public funds are channelled to the market through public procurement. It continues to be vulnerable to fraud and corruption." Akhbar said contracts in organisations should be awarded to only qualified, reliable and competent contractors through a system with strong oversight and continuous monitoring. "Procurement must follow a tight legal framework to ensure that standards are met and there is quality in the selection process." Common procurement lapses, he said, included conflict of interest, misuse of power, undue influence in the needs assessment, embezzlement, fraud in bid evaluation and tender manipulation, and bribery of public officials. Quoting former auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, Akhbar said the estimate that up to 30 per cent of Malaysia's public project value was lost owing to mismanagement and corruption aligned with the World Bank's finding that 20 per cent to 30 per cent of public contract budgets were wasted. He said lack of monitoring and failure to comply with policies were key drivers of corruption and spending leakages. The most common malpractice, he added, was taking "commissions" from bidders by unethical officers. He urged heads of department to actively monitor projects and suppliers to prevent monopolies and abuses. "They themselves must be whiter than white," he said.
