The failings and financial wrongdoings exposed in the 2012 Auditor-General’s(AG) Report highlights the criminal breach of compliance in 5 key principles required in managing public funds of public accountability, transparency, value for money, open and fair competition as well as fair dealings.These failings and financial wrongdoings in government works is critical for Malaysia’s economy because the annual procurement of goods, works and services comes to 25% of the nominal Gross Domestic Product(GDP)compared to other developed economies whos anual procurements is only 12% of the GDP.
In other words, the excesses, wastage and financial wrongdoings can have a negative impact on the economy’s growth rate. The AG’s Report highlighted the repeated annual problems of overspending, under-utilised, sub-standard or paid well above market prices in the procurement of works, goods and services such as:-
- RM1.3 milion worth of equipment by the police force that went missing, including 156 handcuffs, 44 weapons and 29 vehicles were missing.
- the Department of Broadcasting’s purchase of 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’s having to destroy RM600,000 worth of shoes it had purchased because they did not suit its officers;
- the Melaka state government’s illegal building of its Customs and Immigration Quarantine Complex on private land, which eventually cost it an extra RM10.8 million to compensate the landowner, plus an extra RM40 million in building costs that had shot up because of the delay;
- Ministry of Youth spending RM3 million excessively and imprudently for the National Youth Day celebrations, including RM1.6million to bring in K-Pop groups from Korea.
- RM1.3 billion in additional costs over the USD 2.3 billon Bakun Dam project and paying RMUS$133 million (RM430 million) in compensation to two foreign contractors for losses incurred which suffered delays of up to four years in civil engineering works.
The BN Federal government has been clearly struck dumb and helpless by the magnitude of the wastage and wrongdoings that some have resorted to bullying Malaysiakini journalists to hide and distract attention from the fact that BN is unable to provide answers. DAP condemns such hostile acts and bullying by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi when he could not answer Malaysiakini how the police could have lost weapons or justify how their public integrity could have improved with such a poor record.
BN leaders should not be in a state of denial but address the weaknesses identified are:-
- Inadequate procurement planning and poor drafting of specifications;
- Insufficient use of open competitive tendering;
- Failure to disclose budget ceiling; and
- Lack of monitoring and evaluation.
Chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa’s announcement that a special committee to study and scrutinise the Auditor-General’s Report 2012, is a laughable attempt to let the issue die down by studying it to death. The Malaysian public will not accept such delaying tactics and spin of the issue to death, as these excesses were repeatedly exposed every year without any action being taken.
Instead BN should accept PR’s sincere offer to set up a 3-person committee comprising of the Deputy Prime Minister as Chair, the Parliamentary Opposition Leader and the Auditor-General to implement structural reforms to stop such abuses of power and to punish wrong-doers. Only a high-powered committee can put fear into the hearts of those who betray the public trust given to those acting as a custodian of public funds. Otherwise we can expect another repeat of the AG 2013 Report, similar as previous reports except for changing the date.