KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — The Auditor General must conduct a full audit of the Malaysian Armed Forces’ (ATM) accounts to determine if its procurement processes are above board, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said today after several navy personnel were hauled up for corruption investigations.
In a statement here, the parliamentary panel chief said he will write in to Auditor General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang to request the audit, which he said was necessary to protect the military’s image.
“The Auditor General must audit all procurement procedures of the armed forces, and the three branches that come within its ambit to ensure the image of the country’s security forces are always respected by the public,” he said.
“The arrests of several navy personnel by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)... was shocking, especially in view of the fact that they involved matters that have been going on for a long time,” Nur Jazlan added.
According to news reports, the MACC picked up five Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) staff on Monday to assist in investigations over alleged corrupt practices involving naval procurement.
The five, reported Malay Mail, were believed to be working in the Lumut naval base at the procurement section.
On Tuesday, another RMN officer with the rank of lieutenant commander was picked up from the base for the same probe.
Malay Mail quoted a source claiming that the detainees have been leading rich lifestyles thanks to their illegal transactions, which is believed to have earned them millions of ringgit.
“There are thousands of transactions handled by the navy’s dock procurement section everyday and the transactions are huge.
“The suspects were operating like a syndicate. The five navy suspects were earning their cuts by working with the civilian suspects,” the source said in the English daily’s report on Wednesday.
The report added that the navy personnel will be investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009 for accepting bribes.
In his statement, Nur Jazlan said the arrests prove there are weaknesses in the procurement of military assets, and an audit is critical to ensure improvements can be made to current processes.
He noted that several years ago, the PAC called the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to divulge details on its purchase of the Eurocopters but little could be revealed as the issue involved national security.
“The Malaysian Armed Forces must be more transparent on the procurement of its assets as it involves public money, and it is inappropriate to give the excuse that it cannot expose its processes as it would be akin to revealing sensitive national secrets or that it would threaten national security... not when there exists impropriety and corruption among its own officers,” the Umno lawmaker said.
