Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (14)
Malaysiakini
Oct 1, 2013
AUDIT REPORT The auditor-general has questioned the Health Ministry’s payment of RM320,000 to two companies to enhance its social media presence by developing two Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The expenditure, during Liow Tiong Lai’s tenure as minister, comprises payment of RM199,068 to Eficaz Media Sdn to develop the first Facebook page for the anti-smoking ‘Tak Nak merokok’ campaign.
The second Facebook page and the Twitter account were developed by Astonish View Sdn Bhd for the ‘Kempen intervensi penyakit tidak berjangkit’ (intervention campaign for non-contagious diseases), costing RM120,500.
The 2012 Audit Report comments that the scope of the two jobs were almost identical and questioned why Astonish View was given RM120,500 to develop Facebook and Twitter, while Eficaz Media was allocated a higher sum to develop one Facebook page.
It noted that Eficaz Media was appointed for the period of July to December 2011 and that full payment was made based on the number of ‘Likes’ recorded on the Facebook page, set at 100,000.
However, by July 2012, the number of ‘Likes’ had diminished by 3.58 percent or 3,460. After the contract lapsed, the page in question was not updated.
In the auditor-general’s opinion, the ministry should have considered employing either company to manage its Facebook and Twitter accounts as there was similar information in both quotations.
“The ministry must also ensure the social media is relevant and up to date,” the report states.
The ministry replied that it would update its work specifications and tenders to make sure they are clear and specific.
It also assured that it would update its Facebook pages to encourage more ‘Likes’.