Parliament approves Auditor-General's Report 2/2025
The motion on it, tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, was passed by a majority voice vote after being debated by 32 MPs on Wednesday (July 23).
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran, when winding up debate for the department, clarified that the Auditor-General may be appointed from among public service officers.
"For the information of Honourable Members, Clause 1 of Article 105 of the Federal Constitution provides that the Auditor-General shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Conference of Rulers.
"Referring to Article 105 read together with subparagraph 1(1) of the First Schedule to the Audit Act 1957 (Act 62), the Auditor-General may be appointed from among members of the public service, and such appointment is valid," he said.
Kulasegaran was responding to Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu), who had questioned the appointment of Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi as Auditor-General while she was still serving in the civil service.
Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, during his winding-up speech for his ministry, said continuous improvements were being undertaken following the investigation into procurement management at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
He said that since Feb 28, several measures have been taken to align with the Higher Education Strategic Direction 2025, including encouraging the Internal Audit Committee to take follow-up action after discovering that several procurement circulars previously used were outdated.
"For example, UKM was still referring to Treasury Procurement Circular 2.0 when it had already been updated to version 2.2. The Pre-Tender and Coordination Committees have also been dissolved, effectively ending their functions," he said.
Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang, while responding on behalf of her ministry, said it had taken note of LKAN 2/2025's criticisms concerning Felcra Berhad's oil palm estate performance.
She explained that plantation yields could only be seen progressively, with three out of four estates having shown increased output and profits, including Estet Telupid in Sabah, and Sungai Rawit 2 and Aring estates in Kelantan.
"However, the current performance of one estate, Estet Dabong, has yet to reach the targeted level. This must be understood in light of unexpected factors, such as a shortage of skilled plantation workers and extreme weather affecting harvesting operations.
"Nevertheless, Felcra has taken proactive measures, including increasing the number of harvesters and progressively repairing agricultural roads. Recovery efforts are expected to yield more positive results moving forward," she said.
During the winding-up session for the Works Ministry, minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the contractor selection process for Phase 1B of the Pan Borneo Sabah Highway Project was carried out through a selective pre-qualification open tender.
He said this approach was vital to ensure that only companies with proven technical, financial, and experience capacity were awarded the large-scale, high-impact project.
Nanta also acknowledged other challenges, including delays in land acquisition, utility relocation, and shortages of labour and construction materials, which had impacted project timelines. However, he said the ministry had taken improvement measures through engagements with relevant agencies.
Meanwhile, Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, during the winding-up for his ministry, said that all comments and criticisms, including on procurement management, would be taken into account.
The Dewan sits again on Thursday (July 24). – Bernama
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