KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Putrajaya announced today the formation of a special committee to investigate issues highlighted in the 2012 Auditor-General’s Report, vowing “stern action” against all those found guilty of any wrongdoing.
In his Budget 2014 speech to Parliament this evening, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the move was to enhance public confidence in the government, as well as to uphold the image and credibility of the civil service.
The committee to be established will be chaired by Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Ali Hamsa, he said.
Najib also revealed that the Public Service Department (PSD) is currently investigating and taking action against more than 100 cases for non-compliance with financial and procurement procedures.
“Meanwhile, 15 cases are under the investigation of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for prosecution,” he added.
To enhance integrity, Najib said the government would also establish an Integrity Management Unit (IMU) in each ministry, which will be tasked to “increase compliance and adherence with established procedures”.
MACC officers will be represented in the unit, he said.
Among others, the A-G’s 2012 Report revealed that RM1.3 million worth of police equipment went missing in the past three years, including 156 handcuff sets, 44 firearms and 29 vehicles.
The report also found that the Department of Broadcasting had purchased 20 wall clocks at RM3,810 each, 38 times more than the estimated RM100 each, and three A4 size scanners at RM14,670 a unit, more than 70 times the estimated price of RM200 each.
The Customs Department, on the other hand, had to destroy RM600,000 worth of shoes it had purchased because they did not suit its officers.
There were also “significant weaknesses” in the standard of guards for school security systems, although the Education Ministry spent about RM2 billion on security services from 2010 to 2012.
The controversial Bakun Dam project, in turn, had racked up RM1.3 million in additional costs, while the Youth and Sports Ministry spent over RM3 million for the National Youth Day celebrations, which included a RM1.6 million bill to bring in K-Pop groups from South Korea.
In its alternative Budget released yesterday, federal opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had urged the government to set up task forces that will hold ministers and their secretaries-general (KSUs) accountable for the wastage revealed annually in the Auditor-General’s report.
The opposition pact said the chief secretary should order the various KSUs at the federal level in annual meetings to head taskforces at the ministry level to review gaps in the procurement system.
“Guidelines or governance documents that govern the workings and processes for each ministry must be reviewed to include the lowest level of authority to ensure that gaps are effectively addressed,” said PR.
“The results are then measured against the targets set earlier. These results must then be presented in Parliament by the respective ministers who are held accountable for the targets, with the KSU responsible. The results will then be disclosed to the public for scrutiny,” it added.
