Auditor-general: Govt agencies, GLCs must return misused public funds
All federal and state agencies, statutory bodies and 1,875 government-linked companies (GLCs) flagged in the Auditor-General's Report for public fund leakages must return the misappropriated funds.
Auditor-General Wan Suraya Wan Radzi stressed that no public department or organisation will be exempt from action if such leakages are detected.
'Through the Auditor-General's Report Follow-up Committee, we have identified several instances of...
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Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Bouquets and brickbats for financial irregularities task force
Edmund Terence Gomez (left) believes it can help to curb corruption in government-linked companies (GLCs), but social activist Johan Ariffin Samad (right)sees it as just another layer of bureaucracy. PETALING JAYA : The decision to set up a special task force to address financial irregularities in the government has drawn both praise and criticism. Anti-corruption advocate Edmund Terence Gomez believes it can help to curb corruption in government-linked companies (GLCs), but social activist Johan Ariffin Samad sees it as just another layer of bureaucracy in an already-established system of rules and regulations. Gomez, a professor emeritus at Universiti Malaya, noted that some GLCs had previously been embroiled in financial scandals. 'The task force will have a major role to play if it is to undertake an in-depth review of such irregularities,' he told FMT. 'This is because some institutions within the GLC ecosystem, which includes government-linked investment companies (GLICs), statutory bodies as well as listed and unlisted companies, have also been implicated in financial scandals,' he said. For a start, he said, the task force could oversee initiatives such as GEAR-uP, the plan that will see six GLICs invest RM120 billion in 'high growth, high value' industries over five years to stimulate domestic economic growth. 'Given how GLIC funds have allegedly been abused, it is worrying that such a huge sum of public funds will be placed in these institutions for domestic investment,' he added. On June 3, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government would be setting up a special task force to address financial irregularities, saying that this was part of efforts to strengthen the role of the National Audit Department. The initiative will be realised through an amendment to the Audit Act 1957. Anwar said the new task force would ensure that follow-up actions are more holistic, targeted and have high impact. This, he said, was in keeping with the principles of accountability, transparency, and integrity. Last month, auditor-general Wan Suraya Wan Radzi said the amendments to the Audit Act, which came into force last year, empower the department to conduct audits on 1,856 GLCs. She was quoted as saying the amendment expands the department's scope, thereby strengthening the government's oversight of governance and financial management within GLCs. The opposing view Johan, a member of the G25 group of prominent former civil servants, argued that a system to deal with financial irregularities is already in place. 'You already have the audit department, and you have the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Where does this task force fit in? 'Basically, the auditor exposes the weakness in the system, and MACC is supposed to catch the culprits who broke the system or stole something from the system,' he told FMT. 'To me, it's just a waste of time. You're just creating another (layer to the) bureaucratic system,' he added. Johan, who is commonly known as Joe Samad, said the Audit-General's Reports, which are published three times a year, should be tabled for debate in Parliament. 'Then it is the task of the Public Accounts Committee to ensure that (any irregularity) is dealt with,' he added.
Daily Express
14 hours ago
- Daily Express
Reform GLCs for Sabah's future, says UPKO's treasurer
Published on: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Published on: Tue, Jun 10, 2025 Text Size: KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's government-linked companies (GLCs) must undergo bold and comprehensive reforms to serve the people and the state's long-term interests, says UPKO Treasurer-General Dennison R. Indang. He stressed that GLCs should drive economic growth, create jobs, empower local entrepreneurs, and contribute to state revenue. Advertisement However, he said, many GLCs have failed in their purpose due to political interference and poor governance, becoming financial burdens instead. Dennison called for a merit-based, professional approach in board appointments and transparent investment evaluations. Underperforming GLCs, he said, should be restructured or dissolved. He welcomed the formation of the Sabah GLC Monitoring Committee, viewing it as a vital step toward improving integrity, transparency, and accountability. Reform, he added, is not optional but essential for Sabah's economic strength and public trust. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Malaysiakini
a day ago
- Malaysiakini
Pay cuts for all GLCs too, not only Petronas
YOURSAY | 'Have you talked to PMX about the bloated civil service?' Harapan Youth demands pay slash for Petronas top brass Anonymous_3f4b: Pakatan Harapan Youth should direct their calls to the politicians in power first to reduce their obscene perks, allowances, and gratuities, besides eliminating pensions, which cause a dent in the national coffers. After all, these politicians say their duty is to serve the public, not serve themselves. Next, Harapan Youth must target all GLCs (government-linked companies) and state subsidiaries and demand that highly inflated salaries, allowances, and perks be reviewed, not only Petronas. Petronas knows that the oil and gas industry is going south and they are overstaffed. The same goes for the GLCs and state subsidiaries, which treat public taxpayers' money as their piggy bank without accountability and with no positive tangible results shown other than losing money and then getting bailed out again with public money. BlueCougar1744: Has Harapan Youth conducted the analysis on Petronas to retrench 10 percent of its workforce? It is a business decision. Our challenge to Harapan Youth is for you to tell Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that we indeed have a bloated civil service. Have you done that? Being affiliated with any political party, it is your duty and role to ensure checks and balances. Have you demanded that all MPs and assemblypersons be allowed only EPF (Employees Provident Fund) schemes and not pensions? With the bloated civil service and the never-ending pension saga, what are your resolutions to move forward? The top brass in Petronas and all GLCs require a haircut. Do not just target Petronas because the company decided to remove 10 percent of its workforce. Harapan Youth is just trying to shift the blame. It does not work this way, and do not think the rakyat are equally complacent like you. Meerkat: Good points have been raised in this article. Why does Petronas need sponsorship anyway? It has no competition. It's just another way of giving perks to the top brass, who benefit from the reflected effects. A real pity was that Petronas was used as a piggy bank to bail out underperforming assets at the height of its prosperity. If the funds were used judiciously, the country would be basking in prosperity now. Instead, it's lagging way behind the little red dot, which has barely any natural resources. Steven Ong: GLCs are a good example that CEO pay should be according to the company's performance. A good PM would demand that the salaries of CEOs of GLCs losing money be cut in half and further reduced if there is no improvement, and replaced after the third year. The curse on Malaysia is that the government and PM are unethical and unwise to allow the CEOs of GLCs, which incur losses, to be bailed out year after year, to continue receiving unacceptable salaries. If immorality and unethical acts continue to go on, more curses and unfortunate disasters may happen in Malaysia. Chiaberliao88: This should be the humane approach when times are bad. The top executives who have been enjoying high pay, perks, and allowances should volunteer for pay cuts. Retrenchment of full-time, contract, or other workers should be the last resort. The government should go for this approach instead of laying off or retrenching contract workers. Contract workers have families to support, too. Falcon: In Malaysia, GLCs are companies where the government has a direct controlling stake. These companies play a significant role in the Malaysian economy, often operating in key sectors like banking, telecommunications, as well as oil and gas. If there are administrative or financial issues, the call to slash the perks and wages of the top management team is both right and justified before addressing layoffs or retrenchments! Undecided: Following Petronas' announcement of a 10 percent workforce reduction, Harapan Youth has called for the national oil company's leadership to share the burden. This is a good call by Harapan Youth. If the CEO of Petronas had good leadership qualities, this call would not have been necessary. A Better Msia: Harapan is out of touch. This should be asked of all GLICs and GLCs too, as their performance is weak with a lack of dividend growth for shareholders of Perbadanan Nasional Berhad - established on March 17, 1978, as part of Malaysia's New Economic Policy - and EPF. In addition, why not ask for a pension review of politicians, who drain the country's coffers merely for filling up a seat in Parliament and being in 'cari makan' mode? What a cost all these are to the rakyat? FairMinded: This should absolutely be carried out, and every employee from the top to bottom should have the word 'frugal' imprinted on their forehead. Their posh offices with lavish decorations, imported flowers, and fruits, among others, should be minimised. All perks should be downsized, and no overexpenditure on the budget. The good days of mimicking the oil-rich Arabs are over. Electric vehicles powered by green energy generated from solar and hydro, wind and hydrogen, are displacing oil and gas. Wake up, guys, and turun padang. The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now. These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.
