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New Straits Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: Familiar story in AG's Report as billions lost without action
HERE we go again. "Serious irregularities" and "weaknesses" in ministries and government entities are back as national bad news. Our lawmakers must be outraged to hear such misuse of the public purse on the first day of the Dewan Rakyat session. Whatever the year, the Auditor General's Report on government entities bleeding red ink remains very much the same story. There have been years of lessons, yet none learnt. Neither has there been the will to hold errant officers to account. For a nation that is in debt to the tune of RM1.28 trillion and trying hard to pay it off, that is heartbreaking. Why no one has the will to put an end to such systemic failures in the public service has become an annual question. Let's be clear. We are not counting pennies here. We are talking of hundreds of millions of ringgit. Of the five audits conducted over the period of the 11th and 12th Malaysia Plans, the auditors found serious irregularities in three. The first is Felcra Bhd's governance failure in four plantations involving a total of RM241.76 million from 2022 to 2024. Don't fault us for asking: Aren't the top management and board members up to the task? The second, an audit on Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's tender process, though involving a smaller sum — RM58.45 million — disclosed a mind-bending outcome. There, the Tender Procurement Committee selected companies that were not recommended by the Technical Evaluation, Financial Evaluation and Pre-Tender Committees. One overrides three? There can't be a clearer example of a violation of tender procedures. The culprits must not be spared. The third audit relates to army vehicle contract mismanagement. There, RM162.75 million in penalties for late delivery of Gempita vehicle remains uncollected and RM1.42 million in penalties for service delays has yet to be enforced. If that wasn't enough, RM107.54 million in service procurement was split into smaller packages, circumventing regulations. The other two audits findings were related to subsidised cooking oil programme flaws under the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry and weaknesses in the government's pre-qualification procurement introduced by the Finance Ministry, bringing the total value of the five audits to RM48.873 billion. Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) attributes the systemic breakdowns to three causes: outdated procedures, weak financial oversight and a culture of impunity. In our book, though, the culture of impunity is the root cause. Year after year leakages, wastages, irregularities and weaknesses have been highlighted by the Auditor General's Report, yet we hear little about the guilty being held accountable. Quiet slap on the wrists won't do. The government being transparent doesn't mean merely making the audit reports public, it must also be transparent about accountability. TI-M is right in calling on all implicated ministries and agencies to publicly disclose remedial actions within 30 days, covering recovery of funds, disciplinary measures and procedural reforms, to restore public trust. The Auditor General's Reports mustn't just be treated as something to be read and filed away. It must be a call to action. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission must spring into action, if it hasn't already. Accountability is the best medicine against the cancer of impunity.
The Sun
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Serious irregularities found in 2025 Auditor-General's Report
KUALA LUMPUR: Serious irregularities were uncovered in three audits detailed in the 2025 Auditor-General's Report (LKAN) Series 2, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today. Governance weaknesses were identified in FELCRA Berhad's oil palm plantation leasing procurements, involving RM241.76 million from 2022 to 2024. Auditor-General Datuk Seri Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi highlighted flaws in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's (UKM) tender procurement process, involving RM58.45 million. 'Late penalty charges of RM162.75 million for the GEMPITA supply contract remain uncollected, while RM1.42 million in penalties were not imposed for maintenance services,' she said. Additionally, RM107.54 million in procurements were fragmented. The subsidised cooking oil programme by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) also showed monitoring lapses, with no targeted allocation for eligible groups. Wan Suraya urged KPDN to continue reducing quotas to curb leakages. The Selective Pre-Q Procurement Method introduced by the Ministry of Finance was criticised for lacking transparency. 'Some companies failing initial evaluations were still selected at later stages,' she noted, recommending open tenders for accountability. Five audits covering RM48.873 billion in programmes were reviewed, with 22 recommendations submitted. The National Audit Department recovered RM157.73 million from 2024 to June 2025 through penalties and tax collections. The report is accessible via and - Bernama
New Straits Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
TI-M: AG's report exposes systemic failures, urges urgent reform
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has urged the government to enact structural reforms in response to the Auditor General's Report 2/2025, warning that repeated governance failures revealed are emblematic of systemic breakdowns. "Outdated procedures, weak financial oversight and a culture of impunity have allowed such practices to continue year after year," said the watchdog in a statement. TI-M welcomed the expanded audit scope and 2024 amendments to the Audit Act 1957, which empowers the auditor general to monitor the implementation of recommendations via the Auditor General's Dashboard. It also praised enforcement that helped recover RM157.73 million between 2024 and mid-2025. "However, laws and dashboards alone are insufficient. TI-M stresses that transparency must be matched with enforcement, and that every agency implicated must be held accountable without delay." TI-M said these recurring findings highlighted institutional weaknesses that demanded structural reform, not just administrative corrections. It highlighted examples from the AG's report, such as Felcra Bhd's governance failures in lease procurements worth RM241.76 million and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's RM58.45 million in irregular tenders awarded without proper committee recommendation. The group also highlighted the army's failure to collect RM162.75 million in penalties for delayed military vehicles deliveries and improperly fragmented procurement contracts, ongoing weaknesses in cooking oil subsidy management by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry and manipulation risks in the Finance Ministry's Pre-Qualification procurement method. It said there must be immediate action on four fronts—enforcement, public disclosure, independent monitoring and legislative reform. It demanded swift enforcement by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, police and Attorney-General's Chambers on all cases involving procurement fraud, abuse of power or negligence. It urged all implicated ministries and agencies to publicly disclose remedial actions within 30 days, covering recovery of funds, disciplinary measures and procedural reforms, to restore public trust. TI-M also pushed for mandatory implementation of Independent Expert Monitors in all Integrity Pacts for high-risk procurements, calling them a credible safeguard against collusion and corruption in major contracts. Finally, it called for the tabling of a comprehensive Public Procurement Act that would provide a unified, legally enforceable framework with transparency standards, legal sanctions, whistleblower protections and independent oversight. Meanwhile, Malaysia Integrity and Governance Society president Datuk Seri Dr Akhbar Satar said Malaysia must urgently enforce a stringent and transparent procurement framework to curb fraud, corruption and waste. He said this in response to findings in the Auditor General's Report. "Transparency is the antidote to the disease of corruption. Large amounts of public funds are channelled to the market through public procurement. It continues to be vulnerable to fraud and corruption." Akhbar said contracts in organisations should be awarded to only qualified, reliable and competent contractors through a system with strong oversight and continuous monitoring. "Procurement must follow a tight legal framework to ensure that standards are met and there is quality in the selection process." Common procurement lapses, he said, included conflict of interest, misuse of power, undue influence in the needs assessment, embezzlement, fraud in bid evaluation and tender manipulation, and bribery of public officials. Quoting former auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, Akhbar said the estimate that up to 30 per cent of Malaysia's public project value was lost owing to mismanagement and corruption aligned with the World Bank's finding that 20 per cent to 30 per cent of public contract budgets were wasted. He said lack of monitoring and failure to comply with policies were key drivers of corruption and spending leakages. The most common malpractice, he added, was taking "commissions" from bidders by unethical officers. He urged heads of department to actively monitor projects and suppliers to prevent monopolies and abuses. "They themselves must be whiter than white," he said.
New Straits Times
21-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
AG's Report: 'Serious irregularities' in UKM tenders worth RM58.4 million
KUALA LUMPUR: The Auditor General (AG) has found "serious irregularities" in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's (UKM) procurement process, involving three tenders worth RM58.45 million. According to its latest report, the AG said weaknesses were found in both the governance and tender procedures for supplies, services, and works at the university.
The Sun
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Serious irregularities found in three audits by AG Report 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: The 2025 Auditor-General's Report (LKAN) Series 2, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today, exposed serious irregularities in three major audits. Governance weaknesses were identified in FELCRA Berhad's oil palm plantation leases, UKM's tender processes, and the army's armoured vehicle contracts. Auditor-General Datuk Seri Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi highlighted flaws in FELCRA's procurement of four oil palm plantations worth RM241.76 million from 2022 to 2024. She also flagged irregularities in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's (UKM) tender processes involving RM58.45 million. The report further revealed lapses in the army's armoured vehicle maintenance contracts, including uncollected penalties of RM162.75 million and RM1.42 million in waived fines for service delays. Additionally, RM107.54 million in maintenance services were improperly split into smaller contracts. The subsidised cooking oil programme by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) faced criticism for weak monitoring and untargeted allocations. Wan Suraya urged continued quota reductions to curb leakages, aligning with audit recommendations. The Selective Pre-Q Procurement Method, introduced by the Ministry of Finance, was also scrutinised for lacking transparency. Some companies bypassed initial evaluation stages, raising concerns over fairness. The audit recommended discontinuing the method in favour of open tenders. Five audits covering RM48.873 billion in programmes were reviewed, with 22 recommendations issued. The National Audit Department's efforts from 2024 to June 2025 recovered RM157.73 million through penalties and tax collections. The full report is accessible via and
