Punitive action has been taken on findings in A-G’s reports, says Ramkarpal

KUALA LUMPUR: One civil servant has been charged in court under the MACC Act 2009 while disciplinary action was taken against 25 others following the findings of the Auditor-General’s Report for the years 2020 and 2021.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Ramkarpal Singh said from the seven national audit reports on federal agencies and ministries tabled for those years, 24 issues were categorised in the punitive category.

Of these, investigations had concluded for 12 issues: two involved a probe by the MACC, while 10 involved probes by a special committee and an internal investigation committee coordinated by the Public Service Department.

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Investigations are underway for the other 12 matters: Five by the MACC, six by the police, and one by the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC).

“These issues involve leakages involving public funds, serious wastage for which action has either been taken or… under investigation by the relevant enforcement agencies,” he said during question time in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Oct 30).

“The issues raised involved weaknesses in contracts, management of procurement, management of programmes or projects, in the handling of zakat funds, and non-compliance with regulations,” he added.

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As a move forward, he said the Special Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption had decided on July 6 that Auditor-General’s Reports must be submitted to the Cabinet periodically using a new format and structure.

This is to ensure that effective action can be taken by the relevant agencies and ministries.

He said agencies such as the Royal Malaysian Customs Department had taken action in accordance with the Auditor-General’s recommendations.

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Wong Kah Woh (PH-Taiping) had asked about actions by the government in addressing issues contained in the Auditor-General’s Reports for 2020 and 2021 in relation to leakages that included the loss of public money as well as serious wastage.

To a supplementary question by Wong on a timeline for proceedings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to be broadcast live, Ramkarpal said no decision had been made on that as yet.