KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Noraini Ahmad today said that several government agencies and ministries will be called in by the committee following the findings of discrepancies involving government funds.
Noraini said the committee had underlined several issues involving government departments, as the AG report released today found seven cases that involved improper payments worth RM38.73 million.
The report had also found five leakages cases worth RM1.764 billion and six cases of wastage involving RM26.47 million.
“Weaknesses in project planning and aspects of payment, unorganised contract management, outcomes not meeting quality standards, and also a lack of monitoring are some of the reasons behind the issues.
“The committee will set a date for the proceedings and we urge all of the secretaries-general to attend. If they cannot attend, they would need to present an official letter and propose a new date,” Noraini told a press conference in parliament here today.
The Parit Sulong MP disclosed that among the projects and programmes that the committee will be looking into includes the LPG subsidy payments by the Finance Ministry and Customs Department, foreign worker restrictions under the Home Affairs Ministry and Human Resources Ministry, and the Trauma and Emergency Departments of four Klang Valley public hospitals under the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, Auditor-General Datuk Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid said such issues had occurred due to general disregard of government procedure and rules.
He said at the state level, 83 ministries, departments and agencies had achieved an excellent level, followed by good (69), satisfactory (26), less satisfactory (13) and unsatisfactory (two).
The Auditor-General’s Report 2018 Series 1 was tabled in Parliament today.
