KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — There is clearly still an “institutional problem” in Putrajaya, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders said today, noting the repeat of government wastage worth billions that were highlighted in the Auditor-General’s latest report and past federal audits.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said although the 2012 report did not highlight a singular case of excessive waste like in previous audits, such as the failed RM250 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC) project, the 2012 report showed an even worse performance overall in the civil service.

“The problem is an institutional problem in [the] government machinery,” Pua told The Malay Mail Online today.

“Up till today, the fact that we can make payments without proper procedures, certificates of completion, delivery notes, it shows something is wrong with our system,” added the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

He acknowledged that the Auditor-General’s website highlights the cases in the report and lists relevant follow-up actions, but said: “Whether the action is just a rebuke, or actual substantive disciplinary action, that remains to be seen.”

The Auditor-General’s 2012 report, which was released yesterday, revealed wasteful spending and inefficient administration across several government agencies, such as the police losing equipment worth RM1.33 million — including guns and handcuffs — in the past three years, the Health Ministry improperly spending RM320,000 on social media campaigns, and the Education Ministry failing to manage private security contractors at schools that cost RM2 billion.

The federal audit also revealed that the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry had overpaid Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) by at least RM11.6 million for the Malaysian Emergency Response System (MERS) 999 project.

National auditors further noted that seven government-linked corporations (GLCs) — such as Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB), MIMOS Bhd and KTM Bhd - gave employees bonuses, despite racking in a combined loss of nearly RM2 billion in 2011.

PKR vice-president N. Surendran said the report reflected Putrajaya’s continuous failure to manage public funds.

“It’s disturbing that many items of excessive or useless spending are to private companies,” Surendran told The Malay Mail Online today.

“I don’t think there is a great improvement from last year or that there’s anything to celebrate... At the very least, disciplinary action, including sacking, should be taken against civil servants found guilty of wasting or misusing public money,” added the Padang Serai MP.

PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar similarly said that the 2012 report showed that Putrajaya has not learned from previous audits on how to cut government inefficiency and waste.

“We have failed to create a mechanism to prevent such things from happening,” Mahfuz told The Malay Mail Online.

“We keep asking the same questions every year when the report comes out...Even though these are all small items, when you add them up, the amount is huge,” added the Pokok Sena MP.