There seems to be a similar pattern of financial scandals related to Barisan Nasional leaders, sharing the same modus operandi.
The controversial RM9 billion littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal has rocked the nation. It has the same bitter feeling in our mouths when we hear about the 1MDB scandal. This scandal features the same culprits, all belonging to the upper echelon of UMNO.
The scandal includes failure to account for in the very early stages of the project and the subsequent evolution of the payment processes in the context of a patronage system that has gone unnoticed in the public realm. It is the biggest financial scandal in the country after 1MDB.
These financial scandals appear all over the Barisan Nasional government. I have raised many questions in regards to the Human Resources Minister.
I posed specific questions relating to the public accountability of the Human Resources Ministry involving HRD Corp in Parliament, in which I only got partial answers without the most important information requested, the expenses involved in those overseas trips. It follows a similar pattern where the Human Resources Minister is reluctant to reveal expenses incurred from the HRD Corp CEO for his trips to foreign countries and who or which company paid for those trips. I wonder whether there is a patronage system in operation?
Similarly with the Penjana Kerjaya scandal the Human Resources Minister has also failed to reply and address malpractices related to false claims which could also possibly reveal a patronage system of ensuring companies that have connections with personalities within ministry are given favors that are detrimental to interest of tax payers. Over Rm2.34 Billion has been allocated for Penjana Kerjana.
If the Human Resources minister feels there is nothing to hide on the expenses or there is no patronage system then he should make this data available to the public. Why hide? It is only ethical that expenditures are transparently revealed to the public who are the minister’s stakeholders.
It is totally irresponsible of the Minister to hide behind half-baked replies that completely ignore the questions posed. It only fuels the unhealthy speculation that there is much to hide in terms of accountability and transparency.
Therefore it is important for Malaysians to take cognizance of the fact that there is a pattern of scandals in Malaysia that is related to how public funds are utilized with impunity and its link to a coterie of personalities from the Barisan National and how a well oiled patronage system ensures favoritism that has brought hefty losses to taxpayers and the nation as a whole.