DAP wants independent panel to tackle government financial abuse

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — DAP publicity chief Tony Pua has called for the creation of a Financial Accountability Commission (FAC) to take action against government officers found guilty of financial abuse and mismanagement.

Professionals like the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) and Transparency International Malaysia (TI) should lead this body, according to Pua, and exclude civil servants to avoid conflicts of interest.

Pua (picture) said the FAC, which would be put under parliamentary control, was necessary as most errant officers were only reprimanded while the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was limited to produce recommendations.

His proposal follows the release of the Auditor-General’s Report yesterday, which he said had highlighted many instances of continuing financial abuse and incompetence despite an overall upgrade in the financial management ratings of government ministries and agencies.

He pointed out that the audit report had found that the Marine Parks Department paid RM56,350 for a binoculars not worth more than RM1,940, more than 28 times the market price.

The department also purchased common items like laptops, printers, DVD players and LCD televisions for RM192,694 when their total value should not have exceeded RM20,193.

“The logical conclusion from the Auditor-General’s Report is that heads must roll, but it rarely or never happens,” Pua said in a statement.

Unless disciplinary action was taken against offending officers, there would be little incentive for them to increase competence and reduce waste “since the rewards far outweigh the potential punishment”, he stressed.

Nine federal ministries and departments overspent last year’s overall operational allocation by a total of RM3.73 billion, according to the 2010 Auditor-General’s Report.

They include the Education Ministry, Health Ministry, Home Ministry, Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry, Public Service Department, Attorney-General’s Department, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Services Commission.

The report stated that the overspending was unavoidable due to additional activities and unscheduled payments.

“According to financial rules, an expenditure can only be carried out if the approved financial allocation was enough. The audit checks found that this rule was not fully abided by several ministries who have overspent beyond what has been allocated.

“This shows that there is still weakness in the planning and management of expenditures even though this issue has been frequently raised,” said the report.

The report also found 75 cases of over-expenditure in 14 different ministries in terms of service payments and supplies amounting to RM306.01 million.

There were also 17 cases within eight ministries last year where a total of RM98.8 million in allocations went unspent.

The PAC has said it will probe seven ministries and agencies for weak financial management.