PETALING JAYA, March 21 — The Youth and Sports Ministry’s internal auditors should have spotted the misappropriation of funds by a ranking officer over the past eight years, said Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M).

Its president Datuk Akhbar Satar said external audits, usually conducted by the Auditor-General’s office, was done randomly and the onus is for the internal auditors to redflag irregularities.

“Only five per cent of the transactions are checked by the Auditor-General which could be the reason why they did not spot the irregularities. This, however, is the mistake of the ministry’s internal auditors,” said Akhbar.

“If they were linked to the misappropriation, then it is a very sad case. If they are not involved, then procedures must be strengthened further.”

To prevent similar episodes, he said officers who are tasked to oversee important and financial matters should not occupy the post for more than three years to prevent abuses.

“We have to make sure this does not happen again. There must be a proper standard operating procedure and strict supervision by the higher ups.”

Akhbar commended the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for their efforts and urged more people to come forward and fight corruption.

The National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Datuk Lok Yim Pheng expressed her sadness over  how a civil servant could manipulate taxpayers' money for personal gain.

“As government servants, we are entrusted to carry out our duties and we should do our jobs with the highest of integrity,” she said.

“The money was contributed by the public and it was for training and programmes to benefit the people. It is unfair one person utilised the money for his benefit.”

She was glad MACC had uncovered the case.

“This is a timely reminder for those tasked to manage government funds. Total autonomy should not be given to just one person.”

Malaysian Trades Union Congress secretary-general N. Gopal Krishnam believed this case was just the tip of the iceberg.

“What were the respective heads of the ministry doing all this while? The money should have been audited and accounted for as this has been going on for a number of years,” he said.

Gopal said there were sufficient policies but enforcement had to be stepped up.

“Stern action should be taken against those who meddle with public funds.”