KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — After accused of being a “toothless tiger”, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said today it will haul up six ministries for explanation over the various financial discrepancies found in the 2012 Auditor-General report.

The ministries include the Home Ministry and the Education Ministry, with the former to answer to the loss of RM1.33 million worth of police assets including firearms and the latter to face query over the national schools security fiasco that cost taxpayers a whopping RM2 billion.

Its chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan said although the amount involved in the projects were “small”, PAC’s action was necessary as it involved public confidence towards the police while education was a sensitive issue for the public.

“I believe the amount is small but this is an issue involving public confidence towards the police so it’s good to make them explain,” he said after chairing the panel’s second meeting for the new term here.

“The weaknesses revealed in the A-G report is small. Although the amount is small, the issue of education is close to the people”.

Nur Jazlan then claimed PAC’s follow up on the report dismissed allegations that the committee had failed to live up to its name to hold the government accountable.

“I don’t want them to say that we are a toothless tiger. This accusation is not fair. Remember PAC is a bipartisan committee. Whatever decision we make is reached through a consensus”.

The first to be hauled up will be the Youth and Sports Ministry over a questionable sponsorship deal involving a K-Pop concert in 2012. The concert was said to have cost RM1.6 million.

Nur Jazlan revealed that then sports and youth minister Datuk Seri Shabery Cheek had volunteered to appear before and explain to the committee. He is scheduled to testify on November 15.

Other ministries that will be summoned to testify are the Transport Ministry, the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) and the Royal Customs.

Nur Jazlan said the transport ministry will need to explain the delay and contentious cost inflation of KLIA2, the second budget terminal in Sepang, as well as the poor management of the Kota Kinabalu Airport construction.

Both LHDN and the customs department on the other hand will be probed after the A-G report highlighted its poor tax collection.

“This will be good for them as well because when the GST (goods and services tax) is implemented, the customs will be the one collecting it,” Nur Jazlan commented on the matter.

Putrajaya is seeking to introduce the GST, possibly in the upcoming Budget 2014 that will be tabled tomorrow, in a bid to broaden the tax base and to narrow the fiscal deficit.

The federal government has stated that it aims to reduce the fiscal deficit from 4.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) last year to 4 per cent this year, and gradually to 3 per cent by 2015.