KUANTAN, Dec 22 — The government has recouped about RM2 billion which were found to have leaked from government departments and agencies but recovered following the auditing process by the National Audit Department.

Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang said the money was recovered from the audit carried out beginning four years ago on government departments and agencies which previously had weaknesses in managing funds.

"We made the audit based on samples, we cannot audit 10,000 schools, so we make a limited sample, and based on this sample, we were able to identify (the weaknesses).

Ambrin said these audits were carried out each year, and reviewed to see how much had been collected.

"If the audit is not conducted, nobody will know (how much has been lost)," he said.

"A positive effect of this auditing is that the government departments and agencies were able to recover the money," he told reporters after delivering a talk in a programme on integrity here today.

Meanwhile, Ambrin also urged all civil servants to be conscious of their responsibility to perform their duties well and properly so that there were no leaks in managing government funds.

In his talk, Ambrin said the money was recovered after the government departments and agencies corrected their weaknesses including the process of payment for projects, supplies and services.

The programme was organised by the Integrity Unit of the Pahang State Secretariat with the cooperation of the Auditor-General's Chambers and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). — Bernama