Latest news with #Pre-Q
The Star
17 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Watchdogs call for Act to keep govt procurement in check
PETALING JAYA: A comprehensive Public Procurement Act with enforceable legal powers to address long-standing weaknesses in government procurement is urgently needed, say experts and watchdog groups. Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Raymon Ram (pic) said the Act must include transparency standards, independent oversight, legal sanctions for non-compliance, whistleblower protections and clear procurement dispute mechanisms. 'Simply consolidating current guidelines is inadequate; we need a law with teeth,' he said in a statement yesterday, following the release of the Auditor-General's Report 2/2025. Raymon also called for swift enforcement by all relevant agencies, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, police and others. 'All cases involving procurement fraud, abuse of power or negligence must be referred for investigation or prosecution. 'Any form of inaction sends the wrong signal to both the public and potential wrongdoers,' he said. TI-M also urged all implicated ministries, departments and agencies to publish clear corrective measures, including recovery of funds, disciplinary steps and procedural reforms, to restore public confidence and show institutional responsibility. Raymon also called for independent experts and third-party observers in all integrity pacts in high-risk procurements. 'The Auditor-General's Report must not be an annual ritual of regret,' he said, adding that 'it must serve as a catalyst for reform, one that rebuilds institutional integrity, ensures justice for wrongdoing and protects the interests of the rakyat.' On the Pre-Qualification (Pre-Q) system of procurement that was trialed and implemented by multiple ministries, Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) chief executive officer Pushpan Murugiah said C4 agreed with the findings of the Auditor-General's office, since the system was found to be inefficient and open to abuse, an open tender system should have been used instead to eliminate or at least reduce corruption risks. 'Based on the Auditor-General's Report in this instance, the goal of efficient procurements through the implementation of the Pre-Q system was hampered by the lack of a maximum period for second-stage invitation, causing them to be unnecessarily prolonged,' he said. The main issue that still needs to be addressed is that there is no legally binding baseline policy that sets the standard for all government procurements, he added. 'C4 Centre has long advocated for a Government Procurement Act that sets out minimum standards of adherence in terms of transparency, reporting and accountability at all stages of the procurement process, from advertising of tender until project implementation. 'We have seen that piecemeal reforms in specific areas of procurement does little to remedy the risks, and only shifts the flaws onto other aspects of the procurement process,' said Pushpan. Malaysia Corruption Watch (MCW) president Jais Abdul Karim said Parliament and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should also summon the relevant parties for open public hearings. 'We need to accelerate the implementation of the eSelfAudit system, as announced by the Auditor-General, to prevent arbitrary approvals,' he said. On the management of subsidised cooking oils, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) chief executive officer Saravanan Thambirajah proposed an IC-linked purchase system. This, he said, would be similar to the approach used in the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) programme. 'By linking purchases to consumers' IC, the authorities will be able to prevent repeat purchases beyond the permitted limit, and ensure that subsidies reach genuine domestic consumers rather than being diverted to the commercial sector,' he noted. He said an improved digital tracking system was needed, allowing authorities to watch for abnormal purchase patterns or unusually high sales, in real time. Saravanan said the issue represented a misuse of taxpayer funds and directly affected low and middle-income households who were the intended beneficiaries of the subsidies. 'While the intention of subsidising cooking oil is to shield vulnerable groups from the rising cost of living, it does not serve the purpose if leakages occur. 'In fact, they worsen the burden on low-income households by creating artificial shortages and driving up prices,' he said, stressing the need to reassess the sustainability of blanket subsidies.
The Star
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
A-G: Go back to open tender system
PETALING JAYA: The Auditor-General has flagged the government's selective pre-qualification procurement method (Pre-Q) after companies that did not fit the bill and failed to comply with the process still qualified to the next round of the tender process. The Auditor-General has also recommended the Pre-Qualified Selective Procurement method be discontinued and for the government to revert to the open tender system. The audit findings involved projects from three ministries: Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra), Works, and the Rural and Regional Development. According to the Auditor-General Report Series 2/2025, the Pre-Q Procurement mechanism was introduced by the Finance Ministry for project tenders for 2023 and 2024. As for the process, companies that pass the first-stage screening process will be invited to proceed with the open tender process at the second stage. This method is intended to ensure that selected companies are competitive and capable. The audit found potential for manipulation and a lack of transparency in the selection process. Some companies that didn't meet the first-stage evaluation criteria, or weren't even invited, were still selected and evaluated in the second stage. Additionally, the procurement process often exceeded its stipulated duration. For Petra, 154 companies were invited to bid for 25 projects. Six companies even passed the first stage without submitting required documents, with three of them later awarded Letters of Acceptance (LOA) for flood mitigation projects in Penang, Pahang and Selangor totalling over RM811mil. For the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, no list of projects was provided during the first stage of invitation. 'A total of 721 companies participated in the invitation, and 485 companies (67.3%) were approved and certified by the ministry's Procurement Board between Aug 7 and Oct 20, 2023, for the first stage invitation,' the A-G report said. The audit found that seven companies that did not have the financial capacity were invited to participate in the second round, up to four times. One of these companies was awarded the LOA for a RM40.1mil road upgrade works in Tumpat, Kelantan. The Works Ministry, however, showed full compliance in its first-stage evaluation. Both the ministry and the Sabah Public Works Department (JKR) adhered to the Finance Ministry's directives, with 113 companies meeting criteria and passing the first stage. The audit noted that the Petra and the Rural and Regional Development ministries did not comply with the evaluation criteria stipulated by the Finance Ministry. 'Furthermore, this also indicates a lack of transparency and errors in the evaluation of companies at the first stage, which subsequently led to ineligible companies being awarded LOA,' it said. In its response, Petra said the list of companies for participation in the Pre-Qualification stage was obtained through the Construction Industry Development Board's (CIDB) Construction Industry Management System (CIMS), based on pre-determined criteria and records of companies that had participated in similar Open Pre-Qualification Tenders. The Works Ministry, meanwhile, said the Sabah JKR did not have an up-to-date database for the procurement for the 15 work packages under the Pan Borneo Highway Sabah Phase 1B Project. 'The existing database pertained to the Pre-Qualification Tender for the Pan Borneo Highway Sabah Phase 1A Project, which was compiled in 2021. 'However, the data was no longer relevant as the current Pre-Qualification Tender was open to companies from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia,' said the Works Ministry. As a proactive measure for future implementation of fast-tracked mega projects, the Works Ministry plans to use the CIDB database as a reference and for checks and balances to ensure the accuracy and currency of company information and to uphold data integrity, the ministry added. The Rural and Regional Ministry admitted the absence of a complete register of contractors whose previous bids were approved by the Finance Ministry, which would be used as a basis for invitation. The ministry couldn't determine the validity of the information in the registry. The Finance Ministry, on the other hand, stated its commitment to improving the tender process by coming up with a tender guideline for ministries, ensuring that the Electronic Government Procurement Application is used to increase efficiency and a clearer framework for decision-making in the award of projects. The A-G recommended strategic preliminary screening, proper specification of project types (specific and not complex), clear and transparent Pre-Qualification criteria with maximum timeframes, and the formation of an integrated company database.
![[UPDATED] Govt's Pre-Q procurement method lacks transparency, Auditor General finds](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fimages%2Farticles%2FGovtProcurement21_NSTfield_image_socialmedia.var_1753070913.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
![[UPDATED] Govt's Pre-Q procurement method lacks transparency, Auditor General finds](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fassets%2FNST-Logo%402x.png%3Fid%3Db37a17055cb1ffea01f5&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
[UPDATED] Govt's Pre-Q procurement method lacks transparency, Auditor General finds
KUALA LUMPUR: The auditor-general has recommended that the government discontinue the pre-qualification (Pre-Q) procurement method. Auditor-General Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi said open tenders were better to ensure transparency and accountability in procurement. The recommendation was made following findings in the Auditor-General's Report 2/2025, which uncovered manipulation and a lack of transparency in the Pre-Q process introduced by the Finance Ministry in 2023 and 2024. "Some companies that failed to meet the initial evaluation criteria were still invited to participate and were even selected during the final round," she said in a statement. The report audited the use of the Pre-Q method in several ministries, including the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry, the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, and the Works Ministry. At the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry, a tender process involving the procurement of a government office building project saw the selection of a contractor who had failed to meet the requirements in the first stage of screening. The audit found that a company which had not completed its Pre-Q application properly, including failing to provide mandatory supporting documents, was still allowed to advance to the second stage of evaluation. Despite receiving a "Not Recommended" status from the technical evaluation committee, the company was still invited to participate in the second stage and was eventually awarded the project. At the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, a tender process involving the procurement of a government office building project saw the selection of a contractor who had failed to meet technical requirements in the first stage of screening. Despite not complying with the technical capability criteria, the project was still allowed to advance to the second stage of evaluation. The ministry's internal justifications for allowing this were not in line with the Treasury's Pre-Q procurement circulars. Wan Suraya warned that such deviations could result in "non-compliant decisions that jeopardise the credibility of procurement exercises." The auditor-general concluded that the Pre-Q procurement method, as implemented, had failed to meet its original objectives of screening for quality and improving competition. "Some companies that failed to meet the initial evaluation criteria were still invited to participate and were even selected during the final round," said Wan Suraya. She recommended that the Finance Ministry consider abolishing the method altogether and reverting to the open tender approach to safeguard the integrity of government procurement.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Govt's Pre-Q procurement method lacks transparency, Auditor General finds
KUALA LUMPUR: The Auditor General has recommended that the government discontinue the Pre-Qualification (Pre-Q) procurement method. Auditor General Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi said the open tender process was more appropriate to ensure transparency and accountability in procurement. The recommendation was made following findings in the Auditor-General's Report 2/2025, which uncovered manipulation and a lack of transparency in the Pre-Q process introduced by the Finance Ministry in 2023 and 2024. "Some companies that failed to meet the initial evaluation criteria were still invited to participate and were even selected during the final round," she said in a statement.
